Forged by Tears
by CaioOP1985
Summary: What would happen if just a single moment were to change?
1. Chapter 1

"Well, this is goodbye… Kirito-kun."

Kayaba raised his sword high above me as I stood stunned. A deep red shine glinted off the blade. The blood-red sword was then swung down at me.

This is the end for me, is what I think as I see the sword coming down on me, its red glow announcing the end of my own existence. I knew the consequences of accepting Kayaba Akihiko's challenge, but now I realize that it was fated to end like this from the very beginning: with me dead.

The first thing that comes to my mind is Asuna, with her tender smile and the heat of her slender body close to mine. I will never again fell that after my HP goes below zero and I know that she will enter in despair after my death.

Yui will never see her papa again because of this, so I hope that Asuna remembers her when I am already dead. I know that she is a program, but I fell a sorrow without end because I will never stare at her smile again, after she comes back.

Klein comes right after her, my very first friend after us all entered this mad world. I have already said that I regret leaving him behind back in the first floor, but it makes me sad to think how much I have lost by doing so. I hope he manages to get better and leave this world safe.

Egil is another one that crosses my mind right before I die, with that size of his and his tendency to "sell cheap and buy cheap". How many times have I gone to him to sell my items or just have a good talk? There were so many that I can't even remember the number.

Silica shows up in my mind as well, with her pink hair and good mood, she always cheered for me and Asuna, even though she had feelings for me. I could always depend on her to fix my equipment and help me in many things, so it makes me very sad when I think how she will react when I die.

Silica reminded me of my little sister in the other world, with her cute appearance and behavior. I ended up liking her more than just that, and I know that she got to think of me more than just an older brother. I feel sorry for her and I hope that Pina eases her sadness.

Two years have passed since I entered this game, so I don't know how Suguha is now: how does she looks, what she thinks of her stupid older brother and if she will ever forgive me for distancing myself from her. I failed as a brother to her and I get sad by the fact that I will die before seeing her eyes again.

And I remember Sachi, the first girl I ever loved in my life. I can see her shoulder length hair and her smile as easily as if I have just seen her, just like it has been for the last year. I couldn't protect her before, but now I will finally be able to see her again, just like the rest of the Black Cats of the Full Moon.

I have lived a good life, in the end, or at least that's what I think as I recall all of these memories. I have cried, laughed, suffered and fought in a virtual world, but those feelings were real, no matter what anyone says. Now it is the time to leave this world for the rest.

"Thank you… everyone…"

I say, just before smiling a little.

"I… will protect… Kirito-kun!"

The silhouette of a person charged in between Kayaba's red sword and me at an incredible speed. The long, chestnut-brown hair danced in the wind before my eyes.

"Asuna… how… !?"

She is standing in front of me even though she should be unable to move because of the paralysis. She bravely straightened her chest and opened her arms out wide.

An expression of shock exposes itself on Kayaba's face. But nobody could stop his attack now. Everything moves as if in slow motion as the long sword rips its way down, through Asuna's shoulder and all the way into her chest before it stops.

I reach out with both hands towards Asuna as she falls backwards towards me. She collapses into my arms without a sound.

As her gaze meets mine, Asuna gives a weak smile. Her HP bar… depleted.

Time stops.

The sunset. The meadow. The gentle breeze. The slightly cold weather.

We were both sitting on a hill and looking down upon the lake as it shone with the deep golden red of the setting sun.

The sound of rustling leaves. The sound of birds returning to their nests. She held my hand softly, and then rested her head against my shoulder. The clouds drifted by. Then the stars began to appear one by one, twinkling in the evening sky.

We gaze on as the world changes its colors bit by bit.

Then, she finally says something:

"I'm a little tired. Can I rest on your lap for a bit?"

I answer with a smile.

"Yeah, of course. Rest well…"

Her lips start to move, forming a silent sentence, her voice no longer able to be listened. I hold her stronger as I look deep down her eyes, feeling like the whole world has just lost its colors as I see her lips, those lips I have grown to love, form a sentence without words:

"_Sorry… you did well…"_

Her body emits a golden light as I look at her while pieces of her virtual body start to fade away. A single solitary tear comes down of her eyes as she gives me her final smile. She closes her eyes and keeps smiling, like she is really about to sleep…

Then she fades away in a myriad of polygons, leaving no trace of her loving existence. I try to pick those fragments and put them together again, but they just insist to get away from my reach. Tears come down my own eyes as I see those final pieces of Asuna's existence fading into nothingness.

Kayaba pursed his lips and flaunted his arms dramatically.

"This is really surprising. Isn't it just like a standalone console RPG scenario? It should have been impossible for her to recover from the paralysis… So things like this really do happen…"

But his voice doesn't even register in my mind. It feels as if all my emotions are being burnt out, as if I am falling into a bottomless abyss engulfed by despair. Without Asuna, I have no more reason to exist or to fight back.

"_Keep fighting!_"

The voice I hear inside of my head is from her, no matter what I may think.

"_You can't give up! No matter what, you must promise me to keep living in my place… Kirito-kun…_"

I look at the floor and I see her rapier, the last fragment of her left in this world after she is gone. Holding up my black sword in my right hand and picking up her rapier in my left one, I get up, feeling my will stronger than before, when I stared at her body disappearing.

"_Promise me… that you will never give up, even if you face the ultimate despair! Think about all the people who will be sad if you go…_"

"I promise…"

I say those words while looking at the man responsible for taking her away from my arms, the man responsible for destroying more than four thousand lives alone. Anger fills my chest as I take the first step in his direction, feeling my whole body lighter than it ever was.

"_One day, after you get old and find another person for you, I hope we can meet again, Kirito-kun…_"

Her voice seems weaker than before, but it fills me with determination to end the life of the man in front of me, the responsible for doing this with us all. After I end him, I don't know what the future will have for me, but it is not important at the moment, as I take the second step in his direction.

"See you there… Asuna…"

I move faster than I ever did before in my life as I step forward in Kayaba's direction, my swords ready to cut him. Just like the world is in slow motion, as it seemed to be in my duel with him, two weeks ago, he tries to raise his shield to deflect my attack, but it is so slow to me that, by the time he is half of the way, I have already passed by him.

Right after I stop, the upper part of my body tilted closer to the floor and my two arms raised high while holding my swords, a blast of wind comes behind me and makes my clothes move around. I look back as I hear the sound of something hitting the floor and I see that Kayaba's body was cut in three: his right arm still holding his sword is a little far away from half the upper part of his body, separated from the rest by a cut that started at the right side of his hip and ended at his left shoulder, leaving his legs and left arm behind, the one holding his shield.

"Good work… Kirito-kun…"

These are the last words he says right before he disappears in polygons, leaving just his sword and shield behind. I look at the floor where he was standing, thinking about how everyone will return home now that he is defeated.

"_Goodbye… Kirito-kun…_"

Asuna's voice is almost inaudible now, but it fills my heart with joy by hearing it, even if I know about the despair I will be facing. For the rest of my life, I will wonder how it would be if she had survived this death game, even after many years.

My consciousness starts to slip away, all the fatigue joined together from facing the Boss and Kayaba one after the other. I let the swords in my hands go as everything turns black and I hear the sound of people calling for me, but it doesn't matter anymore, as we are all going home.

* * *

I feel that I can move my body, but I don't open my eyes just yet, since I am too terrified to find out about what will be waiting for me. Will it be the real world, a world without Asuna? Or somehow I died and it will be the afterlife?

"Hey, he is moving!"

A man says near me, but I have no intent of opening my eyes, especially if you consider that I was dreaming of Asuna before regaining consciousness.

"Kirito! Can you hear us? If you do, wake up!"

I open my eyes in confusion as I move my head in the direction of the person who just spoke. I find Klein and Egil looking at me, still wearing the armor from the Boss battle. They seem relieved to see me waking up, even shedding tears as I sit down in what seems to be a bed.

"What… what is going on…?"

I ask, looking for the answers of why they are here.

"You collapsed right after killing that bastard! We dragged you to the closest inn because we had no idea what was wrong with you"

Egil says, cleaning the tears that don't stop coming out of his brown eyes.

"Wait just a minute here… for how long have I been sleeping?"

"Just a few hours."

Klein says, relief showing up in his tired voice as he sits in a nearby chair, like he has just run a marathon.

"So… we still are inside the game…?"

I can't believe that Kayaba would break his word like that, after saying that he would release all the players from this place. Something has to be wrong here.

"Yeah… we are."

"What happened?"

None of them answers me right away, just staring at each other. I put my hands in front of my face, passing them over and over, like I am trying to wake up.

"Some minutes after you collapsed… every player received a message from the system…"

Egil says, scratching the back of his head and looking away from me.

"And it said that Sword Art Online has received an update, like it was a patch or something like that."

I put my right index finger and thumb together and open my Main Menu Window, looking for my messages there. Then I see the one they are talking about, telling the players that an update was made in the game. The time that the update was introduced was probably when I killed Kayaba.

"What does that mean?"

I can't answer Egil's question.

"Do you think that Kayaba lied to us all? Like he has been doing this whole time?"

I don't think that this is such a case, since I really believe that his pride wouldn't allow such a thing like going back with his word. Whatever happened, must have been out of his hands. That's when I notice that I have a second message, from… Heathcliff!

"What the… I have a message from him!"

"What?"

As both of them say this with surprise, I open the message and I start to read it, finding out something even more terrible than our greatest fears.

"It wasn't Kayaba the one who did the update…"

"Then, who…?"

I look at Klein's scared face, feeling like my own face is showing as much fear as he is. If what this message says is true, then we are doomed.

"It says… that it was Cardinal… the system that controls the game…"

"How is that possible?"

"Apparently… it now has self-awareness on some matters… and it's only goal is to accomplish the conclusion of the game…"

"What does that mean?"

"It means… that Kayaba is not in control of the system anymore. It is an A.I who's in charge now…"

Could it be possible that the system has grown so much to the point that it now can deny the orders from its masters, the ones who created it? It sounds absurd, but according to this message, it is what happened and now even Kayaba can't control it.

"And what happened to Heath… Kayaba Akihiko?"

"It says here that… he is fading away as he is writing this, since the rules of the system are supreme, even for him now."

I get up from the bed and I go to the nearest wall, looking at it for a while before punching it with all my strength, with the window saying Immortal Object appearing.

"It means… that the only way now is up…"

I punch the wall several times until I fall to the floor, too tired to keep going. Then I put my back on it and sit there for several minutes, feeling the despair coming from Klein and Egil. From this point forward, we will have to win this game in order to get out, but with the difference that we no longer have a leader figure to go on with.

"Where are the others who fought the Boss and witnessed the fight between me and Heathcliff?"

"They are… waiting downstairs for you to wake up…"

After hearing Klein's words, I look at him in confusion, not able to understand the reason why they would do such a thing. Then I remember that, since I defeated Heathcliff and have an Unique Skill on my own, I must probably be the strongest player in this world. I get up from the floor and move to the door after realizing this.

"Kirito?"

"Listen up… we need to decide what will happen from now on… and what will be done about Kayaba's identity."

"Are you sure you can do it after…"

They look away from me, not able to end this sentence, but I get the message anyway: how will I react to Asuna's death?

"Listen… I will deal with any other issue later, but right now, we really need to take care of this, before it gets worse than it already is."

I can't just think of a single fact, one that they must be thinking as well, but are too afraid to put it into words: Asuna sacrificed herself to make sure that we would be free from this place, so with the system stopping this from happening…

The three of us go down to the main hall of the inn, where the remaining thirteen members of the raid party that was created to defeat the Boss are waiting. When we get inside, they all get up and lay their eyes on me, waiting for something.

"Has anything that happened earlier been told to anyone outside this place?"

"No… no one has communicated what happened to the world, but soon people will notice the name of Heathcliff in the Black Iron Palace in the first floor. Not to mention…"

The member of the Knights of Blood who said that suddenly stops talking and looks down, knowing that it is a delicate matter talking about Asuna. I sigh as I sit down in one of the desks, with Klein and Egil following me, just like the rest of the people in the place.

"We need to decide whether we will tell the world about what really happened during the fight against The Skull Reaper."

I say as I look around, making everyone gets in a serious mood as they realize that this decision will have repercussions to all the players currently inside SAO. For this point forward, the people inside this inn will mold the fate of six thousand people.

"I think that, if we tell the truth, unnecessary chaos will follow at the revelation of Heathcliff's true identity."

"Yeah, but everyone deserves to know the truth of what happened, even if it is a bitter one."

"Are you crazy? The Army has been a pain in the ass for a long time, imagine if they hear that the leader of the strongest guild and the strongest player was, in fact, the one who trapped us inside this place!"

This is getting messier by the minute, with several minor debates that are starting to go away from the real problem here: Heathcliff's identity as Kayaba. I stood up, staring at the other men in this place, who all go silent and look at me, expecting something.

"Listen, I do believe that the truth is important, but we must take into account the effects that the truth may have upon the players in the frontlines and those who aren't fighting. If we tell the truth, the morale of them all will crumble and we may lost our chance to end this game, without support."

"Then, what do you expect us to do, exactly?"

I look at the one who spoke, one of the members of the KoB who joined the raid party. He has a serious expression and I recognize him as the one who attacked Kayaba right after the revelation of his true identity.

"We can't allow people to lose hope, not when we are so close to getting out of this world. What I think we should do is… lie to everyone about what truly happened. Instead of telling that Kayaba Akihiko was Heathcliff all along, we tell them that Heathcliff sacrificed himself to make sure that we had a chance to get out of this place."

"What good it will make at this point?"

"Think about it: a hero's sacrifice can boost the morale instead of dragging it down. If we beautify his death a little, maybe more people will be inspired to join the front lines, making the clearance of this game easier."

I look at everyone as they weight my words carefully, feeling the huge responsibility that was put upon us all. They all know that my words are true, even if harsh in content, so they think of them with care.

"We will also need a new symbol to follow: a new hero that will lead us all after the crisis that the loss of the previous caused… if we are to go along with the plan on lying."

Everyone look at each other, felling the crushing pressure of having to make these decisions. True, a new hero to follow is a good idea, so if we move ahead with the fake death plan, we can use someone like that.

"So… do we all agree about telling the world about this fake death and to never tell anyone outside this place about the truth, no matter whom?"

A silence like never other follows these words as everyone make up their minds about the actions that will be taken. Then, the first person raises his hand up and says that he agrees, with the rest of us following right after him.

"Now, if we are going to show a hero to the world, we better decide who that hero will be."

Another KoB member says, with the rest of the people agreeing.

"It would be better that he is one of us, because we can't allow even a single person to find out about this meeting."

"Then I propose Kirito as our hero."

After Klein says that, I look at him with a perplexed expression, wondering how he could say such a thing at a moment like this. For my surprise, the rest of the people in the room start to agree with him, looking at each other in concordance.

"Then, do we all agree…"

"Wait just a second!"

I can't believe that they are really going to do that.

"What's wrong?"

"What's wrong?! I am a beater, did you all forget? No one with a healthy mind will follow me anywhere!"

"That's not true."

Everyone looks at the man who spoke, a member of the Divine Dragon Alliance who has participated in Boss battles a lot of times. He looks at me with a severe face, like I just had said something really bad.

"You are probably the strongest player in the game now with Heathcliff dead and you also have an Unique Skill, something that only the deceased had before. I think that a lot of people would accept you, even if you are a beater."

Everyone nods in agreement with his words, while I just look at them all with a confused and probably a little shocked expression. I couldn't protect anyone, so why should I lead all the players in clearing this death game?

"I agree with you: we need a hero, and Kirito is the one who best fill this position. So, I believe we all have an agreement?"

I watch as everyone raises their hands in the air in concordance with this, leaving just me in the end for deciding the fate of this decision. True, I would fit in the role well, but I have my doubts about all of this, especially at a time to soon after losing Asuna.

But I must be strong, for her.

"I agree… I will be the hero we need, at least until we finish this game."

I sit down again, as everyone falls into a silence that can be felt in the skin, unsure of what do discuss next. Then something crosses my mind as I remember what Heathcliff represented.

"And we also need to decide what will be of the Knights of Blood."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Think of it a little: without Heathcliff, the leader of the guild, and… Asuna, the sub-leader, who else can represent us?"

"Didn't we just decide that you, Kirito, would be our hero?"

"We did, but the fact here is: the KoB are Heathcliff. Without him, the guild won't be the same, and you know it. Probably some players are going to abandon the guild due to his death, so make the math here and add the fact that the second in command also died."

Everyone is hit by the truth in my words as they look down, feeling in their chests that what I said couldn't be more true. The guild was all molded around Heathcliff and a little of Asuna, so now that they are gone, things won't be the same as before.

"Then, what do you propose we do?"

A third member of the KoB speaks, looking at me.

"I think we should disband the Knights of Blood… and create a new guild from the ashes of the former one: a new and fresh start for the frontlines leadership, which is exactly what we were discussing."

The members of the KoB look at each other and soon they nod, understanding what I am proposing here. The other players understand this as well and soon we come to an agreement.

"And you will lead this newly formed guild?"

Someone asks me, so I close my eyes before answering.

"That will fit my role, right?"

"And there is something else that needs to be discussed here."

Everyone looks at the one who spoke, another member of the Divine Dragon Alliance.

"What will be of this particular group? Are we going to keep it, or it will be just a secret pact and no one will ever talk about it again?"

"I believe that we should remain as a group, but in secret from every other player of the game. That way, we can discuss, if something that could affect the players as a whole, what will be the best course of action, just like we did today."

"So, we will, in a way, discuss ways to manipulate the world in order to end this game quicker? Is that what you are saying?"

Everyone falls silent after those words, because this is exactly what he is saying. What we did today will have repercussions among the other players as well, so the decision of creating such a group will lay down on them as well.

I remember Asuna's face and bright smile as I wonder what will be the best course of action to be taken. I ask to speak and everyone look at me, like I am already the leader of them.

"Personally, I don't like the idea of something like that, but we must do whatever it takes to end this game with minimal casualties. If by creating a secret group with these goals is what it takes, I can be part of it."

After a while, everyone agrees with the creation of this group, who is composed of high-ranking members of several clearing guilds and strong players. After we lay our hands down, I start to feel like I have just made a pact with the devil.

"We are kinda like the Illuminati, from those conspiracy theories."

Someone says this, as if in a joke, but then I smile a little.

"Yeah, we are… so for now on, we will be. The name of this secret group, made by sixteen people who share a secret that could change the whole virtual world, will be Illuminati."

Everyone quickly agrees with the name, knowing what it means for us all and what will be the heavy burden we will have to endure. All of it, all of the actions that I may take to clear the game and get out of here, will be in order to fulfill my promise to Asuna, to live.

This is the tale of the creation of the Illuminati.

* * *

I wake up feeling the effects of the bad slept night that I faced after the meeting summit that the KoB had yesterday, a day after the death of Kayaba and Asuna. The main topic was about what would be done now that the leadership suffered such a loss, with the almost thirty members discussing what would be the future of the guild.

After a while, me and the four other members of the Illuminati manipulated the rest into agreeing with the idea of disbanding the guild and creating a new one. As predicted, at least ten of ten decided to leave the guild after the death of the former leader, contributing with the end of the guild.

After everything was settled, the formal disbanding was issued to the system and then the Knights of Blood were officially gone. Today the former leadership will reunite to inform the world about what happened in yesterday's meeting.

It will also be a chance to inform about the creation of my new guild, which was also discussed yesterday after the end of the former guild. In the end, only ten members, including myself and the four other members of the Illuminati, agreed with the creation of a new guild, with the rest disbanding because they didn't want to join the "leftovers".

As I pass by the door of my room in the inn located at the seventh-fifth floor, getting to the Teleport Gate to go to the former headquarters and inform the rest of the players about it. As I get near the place, I see a big crowd composed of at least two hundred players is waiting right in front of the stand where the announcements will be made.

Several people that create the newspaper for the players are already near the stand, waiting to receive news of what happened two days ago and to ask why no one has stepped in the new floor yet. I somehow get in the back of the stand and get reunited with the others who will share the spotlight with me: the three other leaders of the former guild, besides Kayaba and Godfrey, who died some weeks ago.

"So, is everyone ready?"

We pass the curtains and we see ourselves facing the crowd, making me nervous about talking in front of all these people. I can see Klein and Egil among them, while I also see a face that I have ever disliked: Kibaou, one of the leaders of The Army and a real pain in the neck ever since I started playing.

"We have assembled this to inform the world of three things to the rest of the players. We thank you all for taking your time to come here."

Then the crowd starts to whisper in excitement with those words, wondering what it might be and probably wanting answers about the names of Heathcliff and Asuna appearing in the monument in Black Iron Palace. Remembering that her name is now down there among the four thousand others makes me sick, as if I have lost a member of my body.

"The first announcement is that the leader of the Knights of Blood, Heathcliff, and the sub-leader, Asuna, have perished in the fight against the Boss in the last floor cleared."

Hearing it like that makes it official and gets me even more sick than before, making me close my eyes and get a little dizzy with such thing. But I can't show weakness now, if I want to fulfill my promise to her.

The crowd reacts by starting to talk with each other, each of them showing surprise, anger and confusion from hearing this news. If the strongest player of the game and his sub-leader can die, what will be of the rest?

"The second thing…"

After he starts to talk again, everyone gets silent to hear what else they may say.

"Is that the Knights of Blood have suffered a gigantic blow in our ranks, with three of our line of command dying in less than a month. For this reason, the KoB are disbanded for now on."

The reaction of the crowd is even nosier than before, with several of them even showing signs of despair. Now that the Army is no longer present at the frontlines and without the guidance of the Knights of Blood, most of them must be asking what the future will be for now on.

"But, just before dying, Heathcliff entrusted the future of the Players to one of the raiding members of the battle two days ago. He said, in front of more than fifteen witnesses, that his wish was for this person to help us into getting out of here alive."

After this, he makes a signal to me and I stand forward, glaring at the furious crowd in front of me. I am fully aware about what they think of me, so I don't hold back as they lay their eyes on me.

"He's a beater!"

"What do you mean by that?"

"My name is Kirito, and just like many of the survivors of the battle against the boss, I was shocked with the sudden death of Heathcliff. I wasn't expecting him to say such a thing to me, but I will do everything…"

Before I can finish, I see a round and red object coming in my direction, something easy to avoid. After it lands on the ground, I see that it is a tomato before it vanishes. This reaction was expected: who would want someone like me in the place of someone like Kayaba pretending to be Heathcliff?

"Shut up, your beater!"

Kibaou was the one who just shouted as he jumps in the stage, even if no one allowed him. He walks in my direction, looking really angry with me, so I get in a defensive position, even if this is a Safe Zone.

"Someone like you is no leader at all! Just a filthy beater!"

I can hear the screams of the crowd, some agreeing with it, some disagreeing with it, and some probably just screaming. I look in Kibaou's eyes as he gets closer, not impressed by its appearance and staring back at him.

"Wait just a minute!"

The man who was speaking, named Siegfried, stepped forward and stopped Kibaou's advance. They look at each other in anger, like they are measuring themselves.

"Enough of this!"

As I say this, every person on this place silences, impressing even myself that so many are following my orders. I put my hand on Siegfried's right shoulder and I nod to him, so he gets out of the way as I face Kibaou, who is at least a little nervous by my reaction.

"I will give you that: I am a beater. However, it is true that Heathcliff said to me that I should help everyone by doing my best. If you think you can do a better job, then what about we duel here and solve this, once and for all? I can even go easy on you and don't use my Unique Skill, the second to appear in the game."

I hit the jackpot as Kibaou steps backwards with shock, probably scared with the possibility of having to fight a player almost at Level.100. After some tense seconds, with everyone in the crowd holding their breaths, he goes back to the crowd, passing by it with hate in his steps as he gets out of the place.

"Now, if everyone has something else to say, I would really like to hear."

No one says a single thing against me this time, probably because they realized that I must be the strongest player in the game. As everyone quiet down, I sigh and decide that it is time to say the last thing for today.

"With the end of the Knights of Blood, I will create a new guild in its place, in order to fulfill Heathcliff's will… and Asuna's, of course."

"And some of the former members of the Knights of Blood are going to join this new guild, which will be the reformed version of our former guild."

"Any player is invited to join us, without any restriction. All that we ask is that you contribute with something for the guild: blacksmiths, merchants, herbalists or anything that can help us."

Me, Siegfried and the other member of the Illuminati, Orson, say one after the other. The people gathered here look at each other, discussing what was just said before someone screams a question:

"And what will be the name of this guild?"

That is something that was debated over and over yesterday when the proposal of the guild was presented. After a long debate about the many options of names that we could think about, we came up with one that suited our new approach, without Kayaba leading us and without Asuna (that is more for me).

"We will be the Dark Phoenix Guild!"

As I say that, people start to discuss about the choice of the name for the new guild created after such a dark event. In my point of view, it suits this new guild: like a phoenix, we will rise from the ashes of an older and decayed guild and we are dark because of the dark events that led to its creation. No name could be more suited for it.

* * *

I lie on the bed of the second floor of Egil's shop, a place that I know far too well. I do have two houses, but I can't just go back to either of them. One is the very same where I passed my honeymoon with Asuna, just before…

So, it is not a good option, just like the second one, who is Asuna's old house in Selmburg, the sixth-first floor. It is too filled with memories of her, just like the one in the twenty-second floor, so I am not going back there, at least for several months.

It is already night of the day after we announced the creation of the Dark Phoenix and there are already people wanting to join us. I have decided to take a look at the names tomorrow in the morning, hoping that I can find some good people among them. It will probably be another sleepless night filled with the nightmares I have been experiencing in the last nights, ever since Asuna left me.

I wonder how long it will take for me to overcome this pain in my chest, if I ever do it in my life. I know I promised Asuna that I would have a life, but right now it seems impossible that something like that may happen. I close my eyes as I recall every moment we spent together, tears coming down of my eyes as I spent the whole night like that.

* * *

In the next day, I am dealing with buying the new headquarters for the guild, with money donated by everyone that agreed to join us and some sponsors (meaning: members of the Illuminati). We managed to get a four floors house at the Seventy-Fifth floor to use as our headquarters, because we wanted to be as near as possible to the frontlines and no one has entered the new opened floor yet.

"Kirito-sama, where are we going to put this?"

"I told you already: stop using that thing at the end."

It is really bothering me people calling me like that.

"And put that sofa in the main hall: we will need it to have some comforts when the members want to relax a bit."

Everything, including the house and the furniture, cost a small fortune (okay, maybe not so small after all), so I had to make a very good research on places to get before choosing. This isn't exactly the most expensive place, but it isn't the worst either, but it is very poor if you compare it to the former headquarters of the Knights of Blood.

There could be cheaper places in other lower floors, but we agreed that it would be better if we get a place near the frontlines, allowing us some privacy, since few guilds have buildings at a high floor like this. This also means that we can go out in training in a high-leveled place, so we all get a win here.

Even after the acceptance of some people, we still are just with fifteen members, including the ten who were with us from the KoB. However, most of them are people from the frontlines, so we can say that we have a good start. The others who aren't will be giving us support in many ways.

The first floor will be basically a common area for the members of the guild and visitors, with the main hall, a kitchen where people will be able to cook (we will need a chef for it, but I am really not in the mood to look for one myself at the moment) and eat, a storage room for things like food, water and things like that, and a room to store the weapons of the guild.

The second floor is for the general rooms for the members of the guild, with a total capacity of twenty-four people. They will be just for those who don't have their own house, since most players don't have such a thing because of the price of it. The rooms are almost the same size of the one of an inn, but each one has four beds inside. There's the stairs in the middle of the place, dividing the house in two and separating the rooms. In the second floor there will be a common bathroom where members can take a bath in the large bathtub (yeah, it came like that, even if no one is going to use it).

The third floor comports the bigger and better rooms, who will be used both as offices and rooms for several people, including myself, who got the biggest personal space. The other rooms will be for the rest high ranking people: Siegfried, Orson, Egil (who is going to be our Head of Finances) and two empty rooms. Each one has a small private bathroom (for what I have no idea, but whatever) and a space for an office.

The last floor is very smaller than the rest, and you could even say that it is more like a loft than anything. It will be a room where the leaders of the guild can reunite to discuss many different matters about the Guild.

And there is a secret floor below the house, one that only the Illuminati are aware of, and it will be the conference room that will be used for now on. Different from the rest of the place, we had to mount it in secret and it is necessary some special keys to enter there.

"Hey boss! You have some visits!"

As I look back, I see Silica with Pina at her shoulder while Lisbeth gives me a sad smile and raises her hand in the air. Both of them are not as cheerful as the usual, and I have a very good idea on why.

"Hey girls."

I say as I approach them, sure that the reason why they are here is because of Asuna's death.

"Hey, Kirito…"

They sound unsure of what to say to me, but I put my hands on the shoulder of each one, trying my best to show them that I am okay. I have no time to go down with sorrow, not when there is too much to be done already. But it is good to see that those close to me are worried about me.

"We heard about… what happened during the fight and… we have come to see you."

"That's right! We wanted to make sure that… you are fine after what happened!"

"Don't worry girls: I am not committing suicide, if that's what you are thinking."

Even saying it with a good mood, they still show concern about me, like they really thought I would do it. I know that her death hit me hard, and I will never forgive her voice, her smell or her smile, but I have to get out of this place alive, for her. And to do that, I can't let people see me suffer or worry needlessly with my well-being.

"Are you really okay? Because…"

"I am fine!"

I sigh right after saying that, thinking that they really shouldn't be so worried about me like that. However, Liz picks up my hand and I look at her eyes, who are full of sadness and worry.

"Kirito… if you ever need to talk… you know you can count on me, right?"

"Me too!"

The way they spoke makes me smile, not one of those that show true happiness, but this makes them a little more relaxed than before. The warm hand of Liz reminds me what Asuna said, right before she went away from me, but it is too soon to think about other people.

"Kirito-sama, your room is ready."

"Siegfried, I told you to stop calling me that!"

"And I told you that, as our leader, I need to show you my respects."

Saying just that with a small smile on his face, I sigh and close my eyes, giving my shoulders to him. Looks like he is a man that takes things like that in a serious way, so I won't bother with it any longer. I decide to take a look at my own place, since I will be staying there for the time being.

Liz and Silica follow me to the third floor to my new room, a place with a good space for just me. At the middle of it, right in front of a glass door that leads to a terrace, a wooden desk of a dark brown can be seen, with a chair more similar to a throne behind it. At the right part of it there is a large bed (too large for just me, but whatever) made of wood, a mirror of the size of a person and a red carpet below it all. To the right there is another room, which is the bathroom, who won't be used so much, since there is no need to take a bath in this world.

"This place is amazing!"

As both girls go to check the view from the terrace, I look around my new home, sighing a little from the luxury, something unnecessary for me. But at least I will have a place where I will be able to work properly in the Guild's affairs and somewhere to sleep that isn't related to Asuna. Just this will suffice for now.

Just at that moment, I see that Klein has sent me a message, so I open my Menu and give it a look. After reading it, I just glare in shock at it, barely able to believe what is written on the thing. If what is written on it is true, then there will be a real trouble.

"Kirito, what's wrong?"

"Liz… I have to go to the first floor, now!"

"What's wrong?"

"Something happened in the Starting City, something that no one can explain."

"What is going on there?"

"New players have arrived in Aincrad!"


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 02

"And, with this, the first session of the Illuminati is now starting."

After saying these words, Siegfried sits back in his large chair, staring at the other fifteen members, all from various different guilds. The table where we are sitting is round, and is more of a halo than a table, with a large hole on it. Everyone is showing signs of worry, mainly because of the events that took place earlier on this same day.

"So… what exactly happened at the Starting City?"

One of the members of the Divine Dragon Alliance, the one called Regill, asks the rest, whom remain silent because no one knows how to start. After a while, Klein gets up and everyone at the table gives him a look.

"I was the first that witnessed what happened earlier, right when it started. I sent a message to all of you about what was taking place there right after it started."

"Yeah, but some of us don't have any idea of what happened, since we just got there much later, after all the chaos had already started. Could you tell us how it started, exactly?"

* * *

I arrive with Egil, Liz and Silica in the first floor, stopping right at the teleporting gate after seeing the gigantic number of people at the square. This place can hold at least ten thousand people, as it was shown in the first day that Sword Art Online was playable, so it still has a lot of space on it. However, there must be at least four thousand people on it at the moment, all talking at the same time in confusion. The number of Players who still live in the city is very high, but not as high as this and there is no reason for them to all gather in the square like that.

Another thing that calls my attention is the physical appearance of the people in the square: all of them have pointy ears, just like elves in normal RPGs. However, there is no such thing in SAO, since it is impossible for people to change any body feature besides their hairstyle, hair color and eye color, so I don't think that they should have this. The other disturbing fact is that, at the back of every people within range, there is something attached at their backs, who, after a more careful look, seems to be tiny wings.

"Just what in Hell is going on here?"

Just at that moment, Klein and his guild, the Fuurinkazan appear in front of us, all of them showing a troubled face. Klein looks at me, like he is waiting for answers from my part, but I have as many answers as he has.

"What are these people?"

"I asked some of them from where they are, but no one was able to give me an answer with sense! They keep talking about things like "Undine" and "Salamander" and a place called "Alfheim", thing that I never heard about in SAO!"

I look around me, trying to figure out what exactly is happening around me, when I see a girl with blonde hair, wearing white and green clothes. Unlike the rest of the people with strange ears, who are either shouting or arguing, she sounds more calm and firm, looking around her in confusion. I decide to talk with her about what is going on here.

"Excuse me, but who are you?"

"My name is Leafa, of the Sylph race!"

She has green eyes and a long hair, with two braiding at each side of her head and a long ponytail tied by something similar to a flower. She has a sword sheathed at her hip and the pointy ears that everyone around her has.

There is something else that she has: a surprised face, like she wasn't expecting something. I guess it makes sense that she is surprised, since she is here now.

"Sorry… but there are no races in SAO…"

"SAO… what is that?"

She sounds really confused by it, like he really doesn't know what SAO means, which should be impossible by now. I look at Klein and the others, trying to find out what is going on this place.

* * *

"So, when Kirito-kun asked her who she was, she replied by saying these strange things?"

"That's right: it appeared that no one in the place knew that they were in the Starting City, or even inside Sword Art Online. It also appeared that they were from different races, something that isn't possible in this world."

After these words, everyone goes silent, trying to join the pieces together. But the story isn't over yet, so Klein just cleans his throat and keeps telling what happened.

* * *

"Leafa… you don't know what SAO means?"

"No… is this the name of a guild?"

She really doesn't seem aware of what it means, so I look at her for some seconds before answering.

"SAO is just the initials of the game we are inside right now… Sword Art Online…"

"This is impossible! We are inside Alfheim Online, right?"

"Leafa… I don't even know what you are talking about… I have been trapped in this game for almost two years by now, so I am pretty sure that I know where I am."

"But… I was just at Sylvain, the capital of the Sylphs, just a minute ago! How is that possible that I am in another game?"

I look deep in her eyes, trying to understand what she is asking me about, when it hits me: the system update from before. There is no other explanation to what is going on here, and it also makes complete sense. This Alfheim Online must be an online game that uses the same technology from the NerveGear, maybe even the same Cardinal system. That would explain why there was an update.

* * *

"So, you mean…"

Orson says, his mouth shaking.

"Yeah, the update from before must have got these people from this another online game and put them here with us, in SAO. Later we found out that they all were online just before being transported to the Starting City."

This is the strongest theory among the players trying to find out what happened to make four thousand people suddenly enter SAO like that. But for the moment, no one is completely sure of anything, so we will have to go along with this for now on.

"So, what happened next?"

"Then the Army decided to get involved."

* * *

"Leafa, I need you to hear me: you are no longer in Alfheim Online, but in Sword Art Online! Some days ago, there was an update on the system and I think that you and all these people were thrown here because of that!"

She opens her mouth in shock, just as I expected from someone who has just told something so absurd like that. However, she looks in my eyes and she sees the truth of my words, showing even more shock after that.

Before she can say another word, we hear a noise like a lot of people on march, so I turn back and see at least twenty players appearing, all of them wearing the colors of the Army. Leading them, I see Thinker, who has a very perplexed face on him.

"Shit!"

"What's wrong?"

Leafa notices those guys, all armored and ready for battle.

"Trouble."

I walk to Thinker, who notices me and makes a surprised face at me, like he wasn't expecting me here. Klein and Egil follow me to where the players of the Army are standing, all of them confused with what is going on.

"Thinker, why have you come here with so many members?"

"Because I have no idea what's going on. Kirito-kun, could you tell me who they are?"

I approach him, to make sure that no one else will hear us, since I still have no idea on how to proceed with this matter. Surprisingly enough, he gets near me to listen to what I have to say.

"Remember the system update of some days ago? I believe that it made the players of another online game enter SAO, somehow."

"So, all these people are…?"

"Yeah…players from Alfheim Online, a game that must use the same system as SAO, or at least something similar, which allowed them to be dragged here, today."

"Kirito-kun… why something like that would happen now, all of a sudden?"

I can't answer this without risking the Illuminati, so I just say that I can't say, because no one has figured out the reason why we, the original players, were stuck in this place. He doesn't sound too satisfied with the answer, but at least he is not insisting on arguing on the matter, so I guess it is a win.

"And what do we do now? We don't even know how many are there!"

"Do you have a Sound Crystal?"

"Yeah, I do… why?"

Sound Crystals are a special kind that allows the person using it to speak to a big crowd, with everyone hearing the user like he was nears them. It can also be used three times before breaking, so usually the leader of a large guild carry one all the time, in case he needs to speak with all of them at once.

"Can I borrow it?"

Giving me a surprised expression, he delivers the yellow crystal in my hand, warning me that there are two charges before breaking. I pick up it and activate it, saying that I want the entire square to hear my voice.

"Listen to me, players of Alfheim Online! My name is Kirito, the leader of the guild Dark Phoenix and one of the many players who were trapped in Sword Art Online almost two years ago! I know you all are confused with what is happening, but I must ask you all to stay calm while I give you some explanations."

Most of them stop talking as they look around for the person who just spoke, in this case me. Now that they have stopped a little with all the sounds that were being made in the square, I can think a little better in what should be done next.

"I don't know how much you know about SAO, which is the name that we use to talk about Sword Art Online, but there is just a single thing you all must know: if you die here, you die in the real world as well! I must ask you to check if there is a Log Off option in your Menu, because if it isn't there, it means that you are all trapped inside this death game as well!"

As I suspected, they all start to open their Menus, showing the same reaction that everyone showed two years ago: fear. I watch as all of the men and women in sigh get desperate when they can't find the option to get out of this world, confirming their status as prisoners of this world, just like the rest of us all.

"I know how you all are feeling, but don't be scared just yet: although the death is real, you will receive assistance for the time being, while what happened is debated. I just ask you to stay calm and don't leave this square for the time being."

I look at Thinker just after turning the crystal off and giving it back to him.

"Do you have bread and water stored?"

"We do, but not for so many…"

"Then you must buy it, enough to feed these people. It will also be necessary something for them to pass the night, because I have no idea how long they will stay here."

"B-But how am I…"

"Kibaou used to collect "taxes", didn't he? Just use that money, since the main objective of the Army isn't to spread food and information among the players, anyway?"

"You are right… it is time to make a good use of that money."

"Then it is decided."

I say, giving a look at the people and then looking at Klein.

"Klein, could you and Fuurinkazan stay here to watch them? Ask the help of Thinker and the players of his guild to do it."

"No problem."

"You can count on me, Kirito-kun!"

Kibaou doesn't sound too satisfied with this.

Thinker starts to give orders to his men, in preparation for the aid to the newcomers. After saying goodbye and good luck to Klein and his friends, I decide to go back to the building of the guild, to think about the next step to be taken. The girls follow me there and Egil goes back to his store, now that things have been solved at some extend.

* * *

"And now we are here, discussing what must be done."

The rest of the Illuminati look at each other, trying to find an answer to what will be done in relation to those new players inside SAO. Tomorrow, an emergency summit between the guilds will be held to discuss this, but here we will discuss what will be presented as a plan there.

"So, what should we do, regarding this occurrence?"

"First of all, we must find which level they are."

Klein raises his hand and gets up to speak, after everyone stares at him.

"I asked them around, and it seems like there were no Levels in Alfheim Online. However, after telling them where the level should be, they all said that they had a level, but every person that I asked said a different one, so I think that it must be relative to something in their original game."

"Do you think that they could join the frontlines, at least some of them?"

"It's hard to say: even if they do have a high level, they still lack the skill and experience of the people currently fighting there. Even if we send them there, they might end up just dying."

"Maybe we can help them with this."

I say this, making everyone look at me, with curiosity.

"Think about it: we need people to clear the game, so why not just get them to join the fights in the upper floors? But they would be trained by the players of the frontlines before joining them, raising their chances of survival."

"I agree with Kirito here: if we can manage to do this, we may get a valuable asset in clearing this game."

"I agree, but what if they don't want to join us?"

"Then we try to convince them to do so. I believe that there must be at least some of them who might join the frontlines, and even a single person can be an asset."

Everyone agrees with this, nodding and talking with the ones closer to them.

"Then, I propose we find a way to convince the guild leaders to create parties to train the newcomers in the ways of SAO. And we can also divide them by their levels, providing both a way to count how many they are and who is best suited for the frontlines."

After that is decided, we all get up and prepare ourselves to go back to our guilds and houses, using Teleport Crystals to make sure that no one finds us all getting out of the building (just a precaution). As for me, Siegfried and the rest of the formers members of the Knights of Blood, we will use a tunnel that leads not too far from the guild headquarters.

After getting out of the place and back into our own rooms, I go to the terrace and look at the horizon, sighing at the lone night I am about to face. Every night has been filled with nightmares of the moment when I lost the most precious thing for me.

As I get back inside, my Night Vision makes me see that someone is sitting in my bed, waiting for me in the dark. I grab the hilt of my sword before noticing that it is Liz.

"Where have you been so late?"

"I… was walking around. Why?"

She gets up and walks in my direction, the faint light that comes from the glass doors making her seem more like a spirit than a "real" person. She has a sad expression on her face, enhanced by worry as she looks into my eyes with her blue ones.

"Kirito, what is going on with you? Forming your own guild, pretending that you are not hurt with what happened…"

"Liz… I seriously don't want to talk about it now."

"That's my point! You are hiding your pain behind someone that is not you! You need to put those feelings out of your chest before they consume you."

"Liz… please, just…"

"I won't leave this place until you cry for what happened to Asuna! You will let the pain go even if I have to kick it out of you!"

As always, Liz is showing how stubborn she is, but maybe she does have a point in saying those things. I am hiding behind what I must do, so I don't need to face what happened, but is this the best choice? Last time this happened, it took me an year to recover from Sachi's death, so is it really good if I hide my feelings like this?

Asuna said that I should live, even if living in a world without her is meaningless. I can't just go on without her, but I must if I want to make that promise more than hollow words. Before I realize it, tears start to come down my face, without control, even with my efforts of stopping them.

"I… I… I…"

Liz doesn't say a word, just gets near me and hugs me, knowing too well how I am. I see tears in her face and I realize that she also lost her best friend and she is suffering from it. I let the tears drop, knowing a pain that I haven't felt in a long time, letting all the pressure inside of my heart go out at once.

* * *

I wake up smelling a perfume that seems like roses, something that I wasn't expecting. As I open my eyes, I see Liz sleeping right at my side, still wearing the same clothes that she used yesterday. She always looked childish, but seeing her sleeping makes it even more apparent.

Last night we just lied on the bed while I cried like a child, letting the pain go away. It is still there, but at least I let some steam go away before I let it pile up too much, like what I did after the death of the Black Cats of the Full Moon.

She opens her eyes slowly, taking some time to realize where she is at the moment. After cleaning some saliva that came out of her mouth, she looks at me and around her, noticing that we just spent the night together. She gets really red and turns her whole body in the opposite direction, trying to hide herself from me.

"Good morning. Had a good sleep?"

I ask her, like this was a normal situation.

"Y-Yeah… what about you…?"

"The best in some time… since Asuna died, to be more accurate."

She looks at me, still terribly red, but smiling just a little bit.

"Hey, Liz… do you know anyone who can work with wood?"

"Why is that?"

"I want to make a support on the wall for Asuna's rapier… the last thing she touched before…"

"I get it!"

She says, before I can add anything else.

"I will find a friend that will do the job well."

As I smile to her, I hear someone knocking the door, asking for permission to get in. When I open it, I see Ashley, probably the most famous tailor in SAO, getting inside.

"Hello, Kirito-kun. I am here to deliver the new custom made clothes that I made for you."

"New clothes?"

Liz looks at me, sounding confused.

"Well… with the guild and everything, I thought it would be good to try something new, you know? But not _too_ new, right Ashley?"

""Yeah, I don't think that anything besides black suits you, anyway. Here is a jacket that I made for you, using the colors you told me."

She opens her Inventory and takes out some pieces out of it, to show me. The jacket she mentioned is of the same black color as my old coat, but with golden lines in the arm, around the neck and in the bottom. It also has two pockets at the chest and it ends around the hips, different from the coat.

The other clothes she brought are a black sleeveless t-shirt with white details; black pants with a white line at the front; fingerless gloves with a golden detain on the top; and black boots with another golden detail.

"What about the stats of them?"

"Well, the jacket has the same hiding bonus as your old coat, even with the golden parts, and it also adds some dexterity for you. The boots also enhances your dexterity and even hiding. These are probably one of my best works so far."

"Then the price will be as you proposed?"

"Hum… considering the challenge I had on making these, I will give you a discount. You can go and pay later at my shop, if that's okay for you."

"I appreciate it."

After she leaves, I decide to put on the new clothes, inside the bathroom so Liz doesn't need to see something indecent. After I get out of there, she looks at me and whispers, looking impressed.

"You know? You are not half bad now."

"Hahaha…"

I say, sarcastically, adding the breastplate below the jacket and looking at myself in the mirror. Usually I don't wear armor because it makes you slower, but this one is made on a very light material of high density, so it has no effect on speed, giving the person using it protection without a loss in movement.

"But seriously, why did you change your appearance now?"

"Asuna always said that I should add some color on my clothes… besides, the guild colors are black and golden, so I saw fitting to use this."

"Oh… so everyone will have to wear the same colors as you?"

"Mock all you want, but in this guild, everyone can wear whatever they want, no matter what the guild colors may be. Makes everything simple, right?"

"Hum… I never thought you would enter a guild on your own will… or even create one, for that matter."

"People can change, can't they?"

Besides, I want to complete this game and live, like I promised.

"Well, sounds funny! I will join this guild too!"

"Wait, what?"

"Well, I always wanted to join one, so this will fit perfectly, right?"

"Are you serious?"

"Of course I am! Why shouldn't I?"

"Listen… did you forgot that, if you do that, you will have to give part of your profits to the guild?"

"I am aware of that. But it also means that I will be able to be of help for you in a way, right? So there's no problem here!"

Looking at her smiling face as she makes the request to enter the guild by using the system, with the message appearing in the guild's system shortly after. To enter a guild, you can make a request by using the system and the leader or another person appointed by him will either accept or deny your entrance, in case it is a restricted one. If is a free one, anyone can enter it just by making the request, like with the Army.

I sigh while accepting her admission on our ranks and the symbol of the guild, a black phoenix with yellow peck and legs, appear at the side of her name. She sounds happy with this, tilting her head to the right while closing her eyes and smiling. She really is a cute girl, so once in a while I wonder how I ended up her friend.

"Now, I will eat something and head up to that summit, before anyone complains about me getting late."

"Okay then… see you later."

She follows me to the outside of the guild's headquarters, giving me a kiss in the cheek and making me red as she enters the Teleport Gate back to her shop. I sigh while moving to the place chosen as the summit location: Black Iron Castle on the first floor.

* * *

Everything went according to the plan in the summit: thanks to the manipulation of the Illuminati, who persuaded the leaders of the guilds where we are inside of, we managed to convince the rest of the guilds to go with our plan. Now there are some desks with players taking the name and the level of the people on the square, who were sleeping in tents in an improvised camp.

There are several people taking the names of the ones below level fifty, who apparently is the majority, while there are fewer taking the names of those between fifty and eighty. To be able to find people suited for the frontlines, it is necessary people at least above level eighty, but so far very few of them are going there.

The proposition of joining the frontlines was made, but very few are taking them, even if they do have high levels. Maybe it is because they have just entered this death world and don't want to risk their lives, but some of them must probably be thinking that it isn't their work to do so.

"So… this is the new Kirito, hum?"

"Hello for you too, Klein."

"Seriously, why the new outfit?"

"Just trying new things in life."

In the last few days, Klein always had a worry in his eyes while looking at me, but not today. He must have noticed that something changed, besides my outfit, so he is trying to treat me more normally than in the last days. I appreciate this and welcome this change of tone.

"So, you will be one of the instructors to the newbies?"

"That's right. As a guild leader, I have to, apparently."

I sigh, thinking of the troublesome duty I will have for some time.

"And so far, no one has entered the seventy-sixth floor yet."

"What did you expected, Kirito? People are still mourning the blow the frontlines received when…"

"Asuna and Heathcliff died. You can say her name in front of me like always, Klein."

"Yeah… besides, there is this problem with new players, so no one is really on the mood to go and fight monsters, you know what I mean?"

In fact, I do."

That's when I see the girl that I talked briefly yesterday: Leafa. She is saying her name at the desk for people above level eighty and I wonder if she is saying that she would like to join the frontlines. It's strange that I remember her name so well, but girls have been a sight so rare in SAO that any of them probably makes a print in my mind.

"Hey, do you think that they receive the appearance they have in the real world?"

Klein thinks a little before answering my question.

"Well, I never saw people with wings and pointy ears in the real world, so I don't think so. I bet a thousand Col that most of these girls are men pretending."

"Yeah… remember in the first day, when there were a lot of girls and, suddenly, most of them suddenly turned into men, mostly fat men? That was a nightmare for some weeks, I think."

"No kidding! The best part was that they were still wearing the clothes from the girls, so they had skirts and other things like that. I would put my head on the ground and never leave again after that!"

I am not exactly laughing, but I smile a little as Klein and I remember some stories from the two years we passed in this world. Looking back, these two years had their fun parts, despite everything that happened.

I go back to the guild headquarters with Klein following me. When I get inside, there is no one in the building, because they would probably be down there helping with the newcomers or doing something else.

"So, Lisbeth will be a member of Black Phoenix, hum?"

"What's with that face?"

"It's just that you are always surrounded by cute girls, you know that? Even if you consider everything, you are a chick magnet."

"Really Klein? Now you want to talk about girls."

Klein's face is unpayable as he realizes the mistake he just made. However, I smile at him, thinking how priceless this was.

"I am just kidding."

"Yeah… but let's forget that particular topic, okay? Even if you are dealing so well with it."

"Klein… just after she died… I heard her voice and she told me to get out of this place and live. You see… even if she indeed is gone, I will always have her besides me, in some way."

"Kirito…"

"So, let's do our best to make her last wish comes true, okay?"

Klein smiles at me as we get inside the kitchen to pick something to drink when I see someone already cooking. At that moment, a blue dragon lands on my shoulder, passing its head on my hair while making sounds that seemed of joy.

"Silica, what are you doing here?"

I ask, passing a finger at the top of Pina's head.

"Ah… I was just, you know… cooking…"

"Why are you cooking?"

Klein asks her, looking confused to what she is preparing. The girl gets red like an apple and puts her arms behind her body.

"You see… I wanted to raise my Cooking skill, so I asked someone if I could use the kitchen, which was already done. I hope that it isn't much trouble…"

"No problem there. But why do you want to raise it?"

"Well… at first it was because… I wanted to be useful for… a certain person, but now… I was wondering if…"

"Do you want to be the chef for the guild?"

I ask her, making her unbelievable happy. Too few people raise their cooking skill in the game, so finding one will be a pain, anyway. So if she wants to do it, then there's nothing stopping her.

"Can… can I? I mean, I've just reached 600 in the skill, but…"

"No problem. Compared to what people like us will usually eat, your food will be perfect."

She gets even happier with my words, so happy that even I am smiling at her face. She tells us to sit and wait while she finishes, with both of us not able to tell her that we were just going to drink something. As she prepares something with Pina's help, I look at Klein, who gives me his shoulders.

"Hey, who is the certain someone that you wanted to be useful?"

As Klein asks this, I can even feel how red the girl becomes, moving her hands a little faster than before to hide her embarrassment. Looking at her and then to me, who was looking at Pina flying around, Klein puts his right hand at his cheek and smiles in an understanding way.

"I see… well, good luck for you."

The girl avoids Klein's eyes as she finishes what she was preparing: a soup with pieces of meat floating on it. The liquid was yellow and the smell was quite good, so I decide to take a sip of it, noticing that it is pretty good.

"That's good, Silica."

As I pass my hand on her hair, she smiles happily that I have approved the soup she made. It is not in the same level as Asuna, but it is already a good beginning, I guess.

"So, do you want to join the guild? It will be easier that way."

"Yes!"

As I accept her, I notice that the guild already has seventeen members, a small number, but it already makes me a little proud, even if some of them are members of the Illuminati. This is the first time I got myself in a guild with my own will, ever since that time with Sachi and the others, so it feels a little good to see it growing.

Just as I mutter these thoughts, I hear someone knocking the door of the building, wanting to get in. Remembering that only guild members can enter the place, or people authorized by them, I get up and move there, thinking that I should get an NPC to do something like that, just the way Liz does with her store.

I open the door and I find a girl standing there, with a hood covering her head, even though it is still day. She has a short, dandelion hair and light green eyes. She wears a small blue cape with a hood, with black shorts that look more like the ones of a swimsuit, black socks that go above her knees, light brown boots and a chest-plate that covers only her breasts. She also has a little bag attached to her left leg and a huge dagger at her belt.

"Is this the building of the guild Dark Phoenix?"

"Hum… yeah, it is. Do you need something?"

I never saw her before in my life, but she has this aura around her like she has already passed by some hardships in life. She gets inside, after I invite her in, taking her hood and looking around her, like she is evaluating the place.

"And you are?"

I ask, making her looks at me.

"I am Philia, one of the players of the frontlines."

"Sorry, but I never heard of you before."

"Are you extremely honest, or just rude?"

"I said sorry, didn't I?"

The girl keeps looking around, like she is looking for something in the main hall. Klein gets inside the hall, his eyes shifting from me to her, trying to understand who she is and why she is inside.

"And what business do you have here?"

"I want to join the guild, of course."

I look at Klein, who is also surprised by her presence. Getting near him, we pass our arms through each other's shoulders and start to whisper.

"Hey, who is she?"

"She said that she was in the frontlines, but I never even heard of her before. Her name is Philia, apparently."

"Doesn't even ring a bell. Do you think she is lying to you?"

"I don't know… but I should at least give her a chance, right?"

"Right."

I turn to her, who was staring at us for the time we were speaking to each other. I notice that she is already impatient, so I decide to be brief.

"Well, if you say that you are in the frontlines, then I must assume that your level is high."

"I am level eighty-three, if you are asking."

"Then… you can join the guild already."

After the formal procedures were finished, the girl called Philia follows the two men to the kitchen, where Silica is cutting some bread. Soon there is another plate at the table, but everyone eats in silence, caused by the presence of this stranger.

After we all finish, Klein says that he needs to go back to the first floor, to aid his guild in the problem in the first floor. Silica leaves because she needs to get some things from the inn she is staying in order to move to the Dark Phoenix's headquarters. As for the new member, Philia, we go to the second floor together so I can show her new room.

"I hope that you don't mind, but you'll have to share the room with Silica."

"I would rather not, if I can."

"And… why is that?"

"Because I don't do well with others, as a solo player."

"Then… why are you joining a guild?"

"With all due respect, mind your own business."

She gets inside the room and slams the door in my face, leaving me there to look at the door with a stunned face. She sounds like a difficult person to live with, but if she wants to join the guild, what can I do?

* * *

"Are you ready, Kirito-sensei?"

"Klein, call me that again and I will chain you and kick you inside the room for the next boss."

We are moving to the fifth floor for the training of the future frontline soldiers, who will join us in the field as soon as they get used to the system of battle. According to the numbers, a total of 4.342 players from Alfheim Online have entered SAO, and of these, a total of 316 will be joining the frontlines. It may sound that few have joined, but it raises the number of player actually fighting by more than fifty percent, which is a great help.

These new faces were divided in groups of twenty people, who will receive instructions from the ones with two years of experience in fighting in the frontlines. They will start with the monsters in the lower levels, to get used to fighting without risking their lives, and every day we will go up until they get to the top.

I will be one of the instructors, even though I wanted to give this task to anyone else, but according to Siegfried, I should set an example to be followed. Being a guild leader sounds more and more complicated by every day that passes, with me wondering how I ended up like that.

Klein follows his way to the group that he will be teaching while I move to the inn that was set as the meeting point for my group and me. One thing you can say about Siegfried: he sure can administrate big events, since he managed everything like that. I am glad that he is on the guild, leaving some of the work off my back.

I get inside and I see a myriad of different hair colors and pointy ears from my "students" for the next days. They all stare at me when I enter the room, seeing somehow relieved with it. I notice that Leafa is among them (how do I keep seeing her?) and I sigh, moving in the direction.

"Alright, my name is Kirito and I… well, I will be the instructor teaching you… stuff."

"Ahh… Sensei?"

A girl of blue hair and blue eyes raise her hand, like she is on a classroom and wants to ask something.

"Okay… first rule: you all call me Kirito, without anything else, okay? Now, do you want to know something?"

"Where are we going to have this class?"

"There's a field near this town where the monsters are quite weak, so you guys won't have problems or risk of life. Even if they do hit you sometimes, I will be around to kill them, so don't worry about safety."

This time, a guy of red hair and wearing red gloves raises his hands.

"Yes?"

"I still don't understand how Aincrad is and how fighting works."

"Well, then let's have some theory before heading to the field. Today is more or less for this: to give you the basics so tomorrow you guys can try it on the field."

"But… what if we die?"

A guy wearing black clothes raises his hand, looking nervous. This somehow makes the one in red laughs.

"As expected of a Spriggan!"

"I would rather be one than a filthy Salamander like you!"

Then everyone starts to argue with each other, making me confused and sighing. Looks like there was some dispute between races in the other game, but here such things are stupidity. I get up and hit the wall with a skill, to make sure that they listen to me.

"Okay… let's do it this way: there are no races here in SAO, so I would appreciate if you guys stop acting like children! Here, you have to trust the person standing near you during a fight, because if you don't…"

They all either look at the floor or look away from me, probably with these words in their minds. I sigh again, wondering if the other ones are having as much trouble as I am now.

"For the next few days, we will be all members of the same group, so could you at least try to get along well? I talk by experience, but having a comrade near you during a fight can really save your life."

After that, we introduce ourselves and then we basically spent the day talking, knowing each other and I taught them the basics of fighting: how to switch, sword skills, parties, together with guilds and some taboos and untold rules among players.

By the time it all ends, the light of the sunset is entering by the window of the inn, so I decide to call it a day. They will all be staying in the inn for the night, so I decide to do the same instead of going back to the building of the Black Phoenixes. I notice that Leafa was giving me looks all day, like she really wanted to ask something, but was unable to do so.

Some of them will be sharing rooms, but no one wanted to share one with me when I asked, so I got a room for myself. After I get inside, I take the jacket and the breastplate off and stay just with the sleeveless t-shirt, lying down on the bed after that. I look at my messages and inventory, checking if there is something new and if I have what I need for tomorrow field work.

I hear someone knocking the door, so I get up to see Leafa standing there, right after I open the door. She sounds somehow embarrassed with something, playing nervously with her hands.

"Hey Leafa, what's wrong?"

"Can I… talk with you, in private?"

"Sure, come inside."

After I close the door, she sits at the bed and looks at the room, avoiding me while doing so. I find this behavior strange, but I say nothing and sit in a chair, waiting for her to talk.

"Kirito… do you remember the… outside world?"

"Of course I remember it. Two years isn't enough for someone to forget, you know?"

"Is that so… then, you would remember about you family, right? Brothers, sisters?"

"Leafa, you know that talking about things from the outside world is like a taboo, right? Well, I will answer anyway: yes, I would."

"Then… you do have a sister, right?"

"Wait a second… how do you know that?"

"Kirito… I have been trying to tell you this for some time, but…"

At that moment, I realize who Leafa is, so I step back a little, shocked by how God has a bad sense of humor. The girl looks at me with her green eyes, but I know that, in reality, they must be almost black.

"Su… Suguha… is that… you?"

Tears fill her face as she gives me a saddened smile and gets up, the blonde hair moving as she does it. Without moving myself, she jumps at me, hugging me while crying.

"Oni-chan! I… I can't…"

I hug her back, my own eyes filled with tears after seeing my younger sister after two years. I can't stop thinking that she is a prisoner just like me, but that doesn't matter at the moment, as we both share the warmness of our bodies as we make up for these two lost years (God, that sounded so wrong).


	3. Chapter 3

It's been already ten days since the special training for the former players of ALO, or Alfheim Online, has started, with various results so far. Some people dropped training after getting into a panicked state when facing stronger monsters, reducing the active learning people by a hundred loses. I can't blame them for getting scared of death, since even the ones who were trapped inside Sword Art Online from the beginning are until today.

I am glad that, from the group that was under my responsibility, no one has dropped training and they are even showed an enthusiasm atypical to fight monsters. Suguha, or better saying Leafa, has showed an innate talent in using Sword Skills in an amazing way, combining it with her knowledge in Kendo, she becomes a force to be recognized in battle.

Her One Handed Sword Skill is at the maximum, so she can use high leveled attacks, making her even more fearsome. Besides, she is quick, reacts fast to menaces and works well in teams, so she will be perfect in the battlefield. As a brother, I can't stop being proud of my little sister.

The exploration of the seventy-sixth floor has already started, but I haven't even seen it yet, due to the training of the newcomers. But luckily this will be the last day of this, so I will be able to finally hit the fields again. I kind of miss doing this, but it won't be the same since my partner at my side.

I see Leafa doing a Howling Octave, an eight hit combo that mostly relies on speed and can do a lot of damage when used at the right time. The others use skills of the same level, fighting without even my aid, so I decide that they are ready for the frontlines.

* * *

"And a toast to Kirito-san, for dealing with your bullshit all day!"

Marco, the Spriggan guy, says to Enzo, the Salamander.

"Shut up, your stupid bastard!"

For guys who wanted to kill each other ten days ago, seeing them so well like that is amazing. I guess that the atmosphere of ALO makes you dislike the players from the other races. According to what I heard, the PvP was even stimulated among players.

"Kirito-kun, what will happen now?"

"Now you guys will be officially players in the frontlines, so I suggest you join a guild there and help in the clearance of the game."

"And we are going to kick some asses in the way!"

I could spoil the mood by saying that a single mistake can cause the death of others, but now is not the time for this. For now, let's leave these guys enjoying while they can.

"Kirito-kun, aren't you the leader of a guild?"

"Hum? Oh, yes, I am. The Dark Phoenix."

"What about we join in? You already know how we fight and stuff!"

Strangely enough, the Dark Phoenix has become a popular guild among the people from ALO, surprising me as I see our numbers increasing with players for the frontlines. Soon it will be necessary to expand the guild by getting a second building, if things keep escalating like that. I will end up having to refuse their request, because they won't have a place to stay.

"Why do you guys want to join this guild? I've noticed that a lot of people from ALO are doing the same."

"Isn't it obvious? Everyone heard that it is the strongest guild on this game!"

"I wouldn't say that…"

"Well, at least is the one with the strongest player of the game."

So, it seems that the plan of the Illuminati on creating a hero figure is working in some extent. This is good for the clearance of the game, but sometimes makes me uncomfortable by being in the spotlights like that. I sigh, wondering how I am going to put so many people inside that building, with the guild at twenty six members already.

"I… will see what it can be done about that…"

"That's our sensei!"

"Idiot! I told you to don't call me that!"

* * *

"Home sweet home."

I say as I lie down on my bed, still fully dressed with the weapons and clothes that I normally use. Tomorrow I will start to explore the new floor, hoping that the Boss's Room is found quickly. But I fear the battle itself, since the last time we lost fourteen people to the Boss, so how many will die in the next one?

Someone knocks the door, so I swear whoever it is in whispers, wondering who is bothering me at this time of the night. I open the door and I find Leafa standing there, seeming happy.

"You know, if you visit me so late at night, people will start to think strange things."

"Just tell them we are brothers, if that bother you so much."

"Nah, people have said worse things about me, so I really don't care."

I let her in as I take off my jacket, breastplate and weapons, lying down on the bed and feeling how tired I am. Leafa sits at my side and then she also lies down, looking at my face with a smile, like she is enjoying herself.

"You wouldn't believe how much I've missed this… staying at your side like that."

"I can, believe me… hey, Su-I mean, Leafa!"

"Yes?"

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure."

"You said that the bodies of Avatars in ALO were made based on the real ones, right?"

"What about it?"

"Then that means… that you've grown a lot since the last time."

She flushes a lot by hearing this, covering her chest with both her arms, trying to hide the enormous things she has now. I mean it, she used to be flat as a table, but now they must be the biggest ones I've ever saw.

"You shouldn't notice something like that!"

She says, looking at me with angry.

"Not at your own sister…"

Suguha, or Leafa in this world, isn't really my younger sister, but my cousin instead. We were created as brothers, but the fact is that I was adopted by my aunt when I was a baby. I decide to change the subject of the conversation to something less… dangerous.

"So, tomorrow you will be for the first time at the frontlines."

I say, smiling at her.

"How are you feeling?"

"Nervous… but I know I will be okay, remembering all you taught me." She tries to sound confident. "And what about you?"

"I will be playing solo tomorrow." In the moment I say this, I regret it immediately.

"What? Didn't you say that it is too dangerous by now? To go alone on the field?"

Leafa gets up, looking at me with shock.

"Yeah… but it's just that I have been playing solo ever since the beginning… so I don't need to be in a party."

I say, trying to convince myself rather than her.

"But at least go with someone else! You can't just…"

She starts to say, but I put my hand over her mouth.

"Leafa… I am really tired today and I want to rest before tomorrow."

I say, making her go silent.

"Now, could you please go out?"

She tries to say something else, but I stop her from doing so several times, so all she does is to leave the room. After she is gone, I take off my equipment and lie on the bed, thinking of what she said about going alone.

Sure, it will be a lot more dangerous to be all alone out there, but then no one else will die by his fault, at least. He won't die easily, but he will not put another life at risk once again, no matter what happens.

* * *

Walking at the woods of the seventy-sixth floor, Arksophia, I put back my sword on its sheath and I sit down on the floor to rest for a bit. The monsters here are pretty strong, so I am having some difficulty in battling them all on my own. But this way the only life at danger is mine, so I can deal with it pretty well all by myself.

Then I hear something coming, jumping at the exact moment that a blade passes through the tree I was having my back on. Pulling my swords from their sheaths, I see a Flame Skeleton burning in front of me, his sword red from heat and the tree behind of him with a hole. This is an enemy that can cause an extra damage from the heat of its sword, making him even more dangerous.

He strikes from my right side, trying a high blow, but I use my right sword to defend the blow before it gets to near me, but I still feel the heat from the sword. I push him back, jumping away from him in order to gather my own thoughts as on how to proceed. Maybe it wasn't that good of an idea to have come here alone…

I defend a blow coming from the middle of my left side, using this moment to strike the enemy with my right sword, making a large cut on the bones. Then we keep exchanging blows against each other until I see his life at the red zone, while I barely lost mine.

However, I hear something coming from my right side while the first enemy tries a blow from down to my left side. Using my left blade to defend myself from the left attack, I put the right blade in the way of the attack from the second Flame Skeleton. I was with my hands full with just one, but now with a second one as well…

That's when I see a third one appearing in the corner of my vision, making me feel fear from deep inside my mind. There's no way I can take down so many of these guys without risking my own life, so I decide to use a crystal to go back before things get too ugly. But before I can say the words, the second guy hits my hand, making the crystal go away, showing an advanced A.I, like nothing I saw so far.

"Shit!"

I say, demonstrating well my problem.

That's when I sense the wind moving around me and a cut appears in the first skeleton, killing it and sending several shards of data around. I see that I was saved by another player, who is now defending himself from another skeleton with a red blade.

"Take out the other one!"

Whoever it is, he is right: I need to take down the other enemy.

I cross both my blades in a "X" and defend myself from a blow delivered from above the enemy's head. Then I push him back, putting myself in position to use Double Circular, a skill that makes the user spin around his body twice, creating a four-hit combo in the enemy, as each sword hits twice. Both my swords glow into an orange color and I feel the system taking over my body and making it spins around, landing the four attacks with success.

The Skeleton goes backyards, already at the red zone, when I step forward and deliver a blow from above, hitting right in the middle of the skull. He is cut in half and I see the two parts of its body disappearing in polygons as I look back and I see that my savior has already finished with his enemy.

The person in front of me is a boy, more or less at my height and looking like in his seventeens. He wears a black coat that is closed until his hip, but opens below it. He also is wearing grey pants and black and red boots, with a simple belt holding a knife's case with one at it. As for his face, he has a short straight black hair, long enough to just cover part of his ears, dark brown eyes, a round face (not fat though) and nothing unusual about it. His shoulders are a little larger than the usual and he seems like a hardened type.

His sword calls my attention, just like the knife at his belt: The handle of it is black and simple, like my Elucidator, but the guard looks like the wings of a grey dragon and there is a red stone at the middle, looking like the eye of such a creature. The blade is of a dark red that draws the eyes, because it is like it is made of a liquid thing, like there's lava or something like that on it. It is simple in appearance (despite the red stone and wings), but it is probably the most beautiful blade I ever saw in my life.

"Thanks for helping me."

I say, not exactly relaxing my position, even though he is a green player.

"You welcome."

He says, putting his sword back at his head.

"It is always an honor to help the legendary Kirito."

"Do you know who I am?"

I say, holding stronger the handles of my swords.

"As far as I can remember, you are the only player who can use Dual Blades."

He says, pointing at my swords.

"Oh… you are right…"

I say, before bursting into laugh.

"I forgot about that."

"How do you forget about that?"

He says, laughing for some reason as well.

I put my swords back in their sheaths, getting more relaxed around this newcomer who I never saw before. His skin is a little darker than mine, but not too much, making me wondering if he isn't Japanese. He sounds pretty calm, something strange for the frontlines.

"So, what's your name?"

I ask him, trying to make some conversation.

"Robin."

He says, putting his arms back his head and smiling.

"Nice to meet you, Kirito."

Robin… where have I heard this name before? After some moments, I realize who he is, making me open my mouth widely and point at him, unable to speak. If he is telling the truth, he must be the legendary…

"You are the "Unskilled Swordsman"!"

Many people who live in the floors below believe that this nickname is to talk about the worst player in the frontlines, one who has survived just because of luck so far. But they couldn't be more wrong: this player may be one of the strongest players in the whole world of SAO, even before Heathcliff was dethroned.

"That's me."

He says, smiling like it was nothing.

The reason for the nickname and why he is so famous is because it is said that, ever since the begin of this death game, two years ago, this man never used a Sword Skill. It is said that he always defeat monsters and enemies just with his own abilities, not relying on the game's system to fight. For most players, this is just something they can't accept as true, since defeating most monsters in the frontlines is difficult without using the power provided by those skills.

That's what makes him so impressive, if the rumors are indeed truth: he can fight on his own, without having to depend on the system. It is also something useful as you will never suffer from the impossibility to move after you activate your skill, leaving you open to attacks. But I don't know how he manages to do that, so I decide to ask him.

"How… how do you do it?"

"What? Fighting without using Sword Skills?"

He asks me, looking curious.

"Well… I train my own abilities a lot and… well, rely on critical-hits as well."

The chances of dealing a critical attack depend on a lot of situations, but having a style based on them is almost suicidal, as normally the chances are of twenty percent, at best. I look at him, wondering if he is joking when he sees that I have doubt in my eyes.

"Ever since the begin of this game, I always looked for equipment and weapons who could raise my Critical Chance."

This must explain a little, but even so…

"Right now, I have a fifty percent chance to do a critical damage."

He is so proud of it that I almost fall on the ground, shocked.

"F-F-Fifty…"

"Yes, fifty percent. That way, I can rely on it to fight, don't you think?"

I have some equipment that raise my chances, but mine are just at twelve percent, something already high for an average player. To exist someone who can truly have a fifty percent chance… it's no wonder he doesn't need sword skills.

"But… with something like that, if you use Sword Skills…"

"I could be the strongest player, right? Well… there's a reason why I don't use them."

He looks at the floor with some sadness, showing that he has a story. I decide to listen to it, if he is willing to tell me, but first let's get out of this place before more enemies shown up.

"So, why don't you use them?"

I ask him, as soon as we get into village nearby.

"Well… I know that talking about the outside world can make some people uncomfortable, but is the only way to explain, okay?"

"Fine."

"My father is from England while my mother is Brazilian, but I was born in Japan, so it is a very strange family, to say the least."

"I can imagine."

This guy sounds like a really interesting person, to say the least.

"My father used to be a military, but now he takes care of the security of several important people, including some from the Japanese government. That's why he moved to Japan with my mother and I was born here, so I have three nationalities."

This sounds really useful, to have such a number of different nationalities.

"Ever since I was little, my father made me do my best in everything, but he never forced me into anything. The only thing he demanded from me is that I do it without having to rely too much on the strength of others, mostly on my own."

"Is that so?"

"Oh, he said that I should do things in teams and everything, but never making them carries me all around. On his own words: "you should stand with them, not on them". And that's why I don't use these skills."

"So you don't need to rely on the system, but just on yourself…"

That makes a lot of sense, after he explains everything to me in that way. He sounds like a nice guy to talk with, an easy person.

"You know… I never really opened myself like that in this game."

He says, sitting down and looking at the ceiling of the floor.

"Is that so?"

I ask him, looking at the ceiling as well.

"And what about you? Why are you going solo when you lead a guild?"

That makes me a little nervous, a stranger like him asking something like that. But somehow I am not afraid of telling him the truth.

"I… can't take the guilty of losing anyone again…"

I say this, closing my eyes while feeling my chest getting heavy.

"What do you mean by that?"

"A year ago… I lost the entire guild I was in and I felt guilty over it. It took me all that time to truly overcome it, all thanks to a special person. But less than a month ago, I lost that very same person as well, all because I wasn't strong enough to save her…"

"You mean your wife, right? Asuna "the Flash", am I right?"

"Yeah… and that's why I never want anyone to kill at my side again, not while I am alive and breathing."

"You know… I think you are being stupid for doing it."

This gets me by surprise: to have a stranger saying this to me.

"I don't think that she would like you to go all alone like that, especially if you consider how dangerous things are getting. I bet that she would never allow you to go alone."

"You… are right about that…"

Somehow talking with Robin makes me more at ease, like I am losing a big weight from my chest. And I notice that, even with him saying that, he is alone as well.

"And why are you alone?"

"Me? It's because few people can normally keep up with me in what concerns speed and skill, so I don't join parties. Besides, I have trust on my own abilities."

If he has survived that far without the aid of the system, it means that he truly knows how to fight with swords, different from the average of players. When I realize that, I think of something: if it was him the one facing Heathcliff, a person that never used the system and only relied on his own strength, he would have won in an easier way than me, without anyone having to make a sacrifice…

"Please… could you teach me how to fight?"

I get up and bow in front of him, making him get surprised.

"I think you already know how to fight by now…"

"Not like that! I mean that I want to learn how to become a better swordsman, without relying on the system to be strong."

I look deep inside his brown eyes.

"Please!"

He scratches his face with his right hand, looking away from me with a red face. He is probably considering the proposition and how much trouble it may cause to him…

"Okay."

"What?"

"I said that it is okay to train you."

That makes me happy.

"Really?"

"Yeah… so, can I join your guild, so it gets easier for both of us to find each other?"

I send him the invitation and he accepts it, adding his name to the guild members. Then he proposes that we form a party to get some XP before heading back so he can see how I fight and train a little by himself. I say it as okay, since I have been absent from too long from the frontlines.

* * *

"You are not moving your arm the right way, Kirito."

Robin sounds amused while I get up from the floor.

"I know!" I say, getting into a fighting stance once more.

We trained for a few hours in those woods before heading back to the guild's building, where I insisted for him to grab one of the rooms on the third floor instead of sharing one (no one should complain, since he is stronger than the average, at Level 96, while I am at 97). Now we are using Wooden Swords instead of our own normal long swords, because he says that it is better to learn from scratch, even though we won't get hurt because we are inside a Safe Area.

And then I understood that neither I nor Kayaba were that much of good swordsmen, something that seemed obvious during our fight. Robin showed me that I lack a lot of skill when it comes to fight without the aid of the system, against a person who fought for two years without it. This wasn't the first time he sent me to the ground either, but this keeps making me red, no matter what he says.

Apparently, I rush too fast against my enemies, relying more on my momentum than skill. And I notice that, even though all the people on the frontlines were skilled people by now, this guy was way better than any of us, since he never relied on Sword Skills. With them, I may be able to fight against him, but without them, I would be killed in seconds, with that cursed fifty percent of his.

And I also move my arms in a way that, for a person who knows how to truly use a sword, it gets easier to deflect or avoid. He said that he had lessons on how to use swords before entering the game, so he already had a huge advantage against the rest, who learned with their time playing SAO. After two years refining his skills, he is probably the best player in the matter of pure ability.

"Why… why didn't you joined the Boss's Raid more often?"

I ask him as we take a break from the training.

"Oh, I joined them, but not the ones to go to the next floors."

"What do you mean by that?"

"In the floors below, there are areas that are locked for the normal players, places where abnormal monsters deal within. To open these areas, who sometimes didn't have anything really useful or important, it is necessary to defeat the bosses guarding them."

"And you were one of the players opening them?"

I ask him, impressed.

"That way, more areas for the players at the floors already cleared would be available, making their growth easier."

I already heard about those Bosses, even having faced one when I was with Yui, but I never really got back to fight against them. Manly because they were normally at the level of a Boss at the upper floors that everyone was currently in, but also because I wanted to help in the clearing of this game.

Those areas really didn't have anything as a reward, but were just more opportunities for players to get stronger and to go up in Aincrad. But their rewards for defeating the Bosses were normally pretty good, normally a high-leveled item.

"That red sword you saw before, Dragon's Dawn, was from when we defeated the Dark Dragon of Fire in the sixty-eight floor. It is a +43 sword and raises the chance of delivering a critical blow by ten percent."

Both my swords were +40, so looking at one with higher specs makes me a little uneasy, even if it is a person that I am starting to believe in. And a sword that can raise the chance of a critical damage that much…

"I envy you…"

I say, while sighing.

"And why is that?"

"It's just… you chose a harder path than any other, but still managed to come this far…"

"Don't swat over this, Kirito."

He says, smiling and putting his arms at the back of his head.

"You are now the one who will lead everyone to freedom, aren't you? So you can't be envious of anyone."

"That may be right…"

I feel at ease around this guy, even if we have met just today. He sounds like that kind of person you can rely on and trust to be at your side at all times. And now he is in the Dark Phoenix and making me a step closer to achieve the end of the game.

**Put a Line Here**

It is already late at night, but Robin is awake, glaring at the ceiling above him, wondering how long will ha stare at something like that instead of the real sky. He is lying down on the grass right outside the building of the Black Phoenix guild, feeling a little tired from what happened on this day.

But at least he achieved what he tried: joining the guild of the legendary player Kirito, the user of Dual Blades. Robin needs to watch him very carefully for the next weeks, in order to achieve Robin's goal, even if he has to lie a little to his new friend. Sure, it is bad to lie to people, but that won't matter as long as he gets what he needs.

And if things go bad… he can always use "that" against Kirito, the thing he knows that no one else do. This, together with a certain person, is his biggest secret, those no one else knows about. He picks up a recording crystal from his pocket and turns it on, hearing the music being played from it, the voice of a girl.

But the music doesn't completely stops him from hearing someone trying to sneak inside the building. Getting up in silence, remembering that his Hiding skill is at the maximum, he moves a bit and sees a person trying to sneak in the building unnoticed.

"So, what such a lady like yourself wants here?"

Robin recognizes Philia, that girl that entered the guild recently, the one with dandelion hair. She looks at me with a very surprised expression, joined with a bit of irritation, probably because she was noticed.

"I am entering the place I live, why?"

"Sneaking inside? Who does that?"

Robin sounds really suspicious of that girl, who he notices is very familiar.

"It's none of your business how I enter anywhere!"

She sounds really angry, making the boy even more suspicious.

"Listen, what exactly where you doing to get that late at the guild?"

"Like I said before: it's none of your fucking business!"

She yells that last part, sounding very angry with me, and she opens the door, giving me a last angry look.

"If the guild leader has a problem, he is the only one that I may listen. Otherwise, leave me alone!"

She slams the door, leaving Robin alone outside, his instincts telling him that something deeply wrong is happening. Maybe she is the reason why he has come to this place, with that familiar feeling he got when they talked. But if she is not, he may lose all the ground he has achieved so far, so he decides to leave her be, for now.

* * *

"Here, Kirito-kun."

"Thanks for the tea, Silica."

I say while sipping a little of it, a green tea with some honey on it, looking at the results of the explorations on the dungeon of the seventy-sixth floor. It's been already a week since it was found and no one has found the room where the Boss resides, so I am analyzing the maps to see if I manage to pinpoint where it is, without success.

"Any luck?"

Silica sounds worried when she sees me scratching my head.

"Not exactly… I hate to do the paperwork instead of going in the field…"

"At least you have the help of Robin-san."

Her smile reminds me of all the paperwork Robin manages to do, much more than me to say the least. Having a military father, he always was very organized and reliable on doing these things, so he helps me to take care of it.

Something I noticed about him: he doesn't mind talking about the outside world, while most people I know like to stay out of that subject. That's why I ended up knowing a lot about his life before he was trapped: how he is a single son, had sword training ever since he was six, loves to play with mechanical things like cars and motorbikes and has a collection of swords and guns from all around the world.

"Kirito, here are the list of funds we gathered in the last week.

Speaking of the devil.

"Hey, hello Silica-san."

"Hi."

Robin made everyone like him pretty fast on the inside of the guild, becoming a loved member pretty fast. Even I am going on the field while on a party with him (mostly because that way he can analyze my fighting style better). But there's something happening between him and that girl Philia, since she seems to avoid his eyes when they are in the same room.

"Hey, did you hear? The hate against Beaters are fading away."

Silica says, all happy.

"This must be because of Kirito-kun!"

"I think that people are starting to realize that they are just in the same situation as us."

I say, looking at the information Robin gathered.

"It was pretty rough being a Beta Tester at the beginning, right Kirito?"

"You are right."

That's when I notice exactly what Robin said.

"Wait, you were…"

"A Beta Tester? Yes, I was. All thanks to my dad, who got it for me."

That makes me with my mouth wide open, because I never realize that he was that similar to me. That must explain how he managed to survive without using the system's help, at least until he got used to it. Smiling at him, I wonder how much else he has done during these two years.

"Hey, can I talk with you?"

I see that Philia has entered the room after knocking the door, but she freezes when she sees Robin, like she wasn't expecting him to be here.

"Oh… of course, Philia."

"In… private?"

I notice that Robin's shoulders suddenly get tense, like he dislikes her being alone with me like that. But when I agree with it, he leaves without saying a word, while Silica looks at Philia with some worry, like she might do something to me.

"So, what do you want to discuss?"

"Could you… form a party with me on the field, tomorrow?"

"Why do you want that?"

"Because… I never fought in a party before and I want now to try it."

She looks at me with her blue eyes, showing how serious she is.

"Well… I already am in a party with Robin, so if you want…"

"Whatever!"

She sounds a little pissed about Robin coming together.

"As long as we go."

After she leaves, I wonder why me of all people. Sure, I am a strong player, even a famous one, but doesn't it a bit unusual to have a member of the guild want to form a party with the leader? And I never even heard of her before she showed up at the door, some time ago…

But maybe it would be for the best, forming a party and getting to know my comrades a little better. And maybe I can find out more about her while doing it, so I guess I will proceed with her idea.

* * *

"So, who's ready for this?"

I say, trying to sound animated.

"Me!"

Robin sounds a little cheerful, but is at some distance from Philia.

"Let's just do it."

Is it just me, or she seems pissed?

As we walk to the dungeon of the floor, while I speak with Robin (Philia just stays silent at some distance). It will take some time before we reach the place and we have the advantage of having a level high enough so few monsters will bother us and that the cold winter isn't that bad today.

"So, how many Skills have you mastered?"

I ask Robin, after telling him that I have five, including my Unique Skill.

"I have five skills mastered: One Handed Sword, One Handed Dagger, Two Handed Sword, Parry and…"

I notice how he stops talking when it comes to the last skill, like he wants to hide something. He looks like he is regretting talking about that skill.

"What's it?"

"It's just… I don't like to talk about it…"

"Why? Is something like Sewing? Suits you well!"

Philia says, making Robin red.

"It doesn't matter which skill it is. If you don't want to tell us which one you have mastered, it is okay."

"Thanks…"

He sounds really relieved with this.

After a while we reach the dungeon and soon we start fighting against the monsters inside there, enabling me to see Philia's abilities. She is very fast and can deal a lot of blows against her enemies, but she doesn't play well in teams, something expected of a solo player.

This gets her into situations where she could have avoided being hit, if only she had allowed us into the fight earlier. After a while, even I am a little annoyed at her, while she drinks another healing potion and we rest for a while.

"Philia, what's your level?"

Robin suddenly asks.

"What do you mean by that?"

She sounds a little angry at him.

"It's just that I've noticed that you are moving too slow to fight against these monsters. And considering the fact that I want to stay alive, I have to make sure that you are alive, so what's your level?"

She looks at the floor, red with anger and, maybe, embarrassment. Even I am a little curious now, because she really seems too slow and her attacks deal a good amount of damage, but not something fitting a person in the frontlines. Not that she is slow, but just too much for someone that fights like this every day.

"I am… level 72…"

"What?"

Both I and Robin say, raising our voices while she looks away, sounding angry.

"And what do you think you are doing here?"

I say, sounding alarmed at how reckless she is.

"You should be at least at level 80 to be at the frontlines, at the current moment!"

"Just leave me alone!"

As she yells that, she runs away from where we are, right in the middle of the dungeon, something that gets me worried, with her low level and everything. I get up and run after her, trying to use my superior dexterity to catch up quickly to her, just when I hear a scream.

When I find her, I see a large lizard holding her by its tail, while it directs its yellow eyes at me. She tries to get away, but she lost her long knife and now all she can do is to fight to get free while her HP bar gets depleted.

"Hold on!"

I say, picking up both my swords and running in the direction of the enemy, when I remember what Robin told me: never rush in, but let the enemy make the first move, if he is slower than you. As for what it appears, the lizard, called Reptile Guardian, is pretty slower than me, so I stop and wait for the first move.

He puts his tongue out and tries to hit me with it like a whip, but I roll on the floor right before he can hit me, cutting the tongue out while it. The monster's HP bar diminishes a little and he pushes his tongue back, giving me a chance to attack him directly. I approach his head and deliver two cuts on him, directly on his eyes, making him blind for a few seconds.

That's when I hear someone approaching, jumping and cutting the tail of the lizard, making Philia fall. I manage to grab her before she fall on the ground, but before I can get up, the lizard has already recovered from the stun and is lowing his paw at us. But Robin appears before us and defends us with a large sword, not Dragon's Dawn: Dragon's Claw!

Besides Dragon's Dawn, Robin has two other main weapons: Frost Heart, the dagger he carries at his belt, and Dragon's Claw, his Large Sword and secondary weapon. According to him, the second one is used when he needs brute strength instead of balance.

Its appearance is the opposite of the first one: it has a red handle and no guard, just the gigantic blade stretching directly from the handle. The blade is of a pure black, with some red things that seems like veils on it. He said that it was made by a player to him, as a gift for doing something for the player.

According to him, the Strength of that thing is monstrous, but it hardly has any agility bonus or any other bonus for that matter. It is just a giant thing to deal a lot of brute damage when the situation allows, like against an enemy that slow.

The lizard is almost with his HP Bar gone by now, but Robin cuts him anyway, separating the monster into two large pieces. After this, Philia just keeps staring at where it disappeared, barely believing that she is alive, as she is already at the red zone.

Then she starts to cry out, but smiling while doing this.

"I am alive…"

"Yes, you are."

Robin says, putting his Dragon's Fang back at his Inventory.

"Now, next time, please don't just run ahead like that, okay?"

When I offer her my hand to help her to get up, she hugs me, holding me pretty strong near her body. Even if it isn't real, the heat coming from her body reminds me of Asuna, making a tiny tear appear on my own face. Robin stares at us, with his arms crossed, looking thoughtful about something.

"That's it: she won't ever come with us again."

I have no idea why, but I laugh at this, maybe for the first time since Asuna died, I truly laugh at something. Soon, Philia laughs as well, even with tears in her eyes, leaving only Robin looking at us, like we were a couple of clowns.


	4. Chapter 4

"Thanks for everything, Kirito!"

Klein says, drinking another glass of wine, filling it right after it.

"Everyone deserves a break, right?"

Today is 24th November, 2024 and the Dark Phoenix is having a Christmas party to relax after a month fighting in the frontlines. Everyone is talking with animation, waiting for midnight when the exchange of presents will be made, except by…

"Why aren't you enjoying?"

As always, Philia is at the corner, looking like she wants to mix with the shadows.

"Why should I?"

I sigh, thinking about how difficult she is around people, even if she did relax a bit around me and Robin. But she is far too much solitary, not going together in parties and only sticking with the floors a little lower than this one.

So far, we are at 80th floor, cutting the way to the next one, probably even before the New Year starts. The increase in numbers provided by the players from Alfheim Online was a huge asset in the clearing of the game, another victory for the Illuminati, I suppose.

"You shouldn't isolate yourself from the world, Philia. Believe me, it's not healthy."

"Oh, yeah? Then why don't you say that to Robin, _if _he appears."

I can't find an argument against that, because Robin really isn't present at the moment, because he left earlier with Argo, the information broker. I was surprised to see that they knew each other and even have a closer relationship than most of her clients. She even calls him "Rin-bou", something that I have seen very little in all the time we have known each other.

They talked about something and then Robin left the place in a hurry, saying sorry for not being able to stay, making myself a little worried. He said he was someone who defeats special Bosses, but could he do it… never mind.

"Hey, Kirito!"

Liz appears, super happy and emanating an aura around her body, dressed in a long red dress with a thin sleeve, allowing seeing the arms.

"How are you doing?"

"Pretty good! I can't believe that you, the king of the loners, is making a party!"

"You are making me sound bad…"

Time fly by and soon it's midnight, time for the presents, so I go on and grab mine to give. For most the girls, I give a set of clothes for winter and spring, while for Klein and Egil I give some tools that I found that they may find useful. I bought some throwing knifes for Robin, but he is not here yet, so I put the present away for him. At last, I go at Philia, who received nothing because of her isolation from the rest of us, with a small pocket.

"Here: no one should go on in this day without a gift."

"Thank you…"

She looks surprised at the small box, covered in red paper and a yellow lace.

"I… didn't got you anything…"

"No worries."

She opens it up and then her mouth opens widely, making me smile as she takes it out of the box. It is a small hearth made of a shining red stone with a golden chain for you to put it around your neck. It isn't that expensive, but even I am not that stupid to tell her that.

"It's… beautiful…"

"I'm glad you liked it."

"Thank you…"

She immediately equips it, making it disappear for a second before it appears again in her neck, glowing in a weak red light. She gives a warm smile to me while tilting her head to the side and closing her eyes, showing how pretty she is, something rare in SAO (even more than a month ago).

"Now, why don't you join everyone?"

"I…"

"Come on Philia! They won't bite you."

I say, grabbing her hand and dragging her with me to where the rest of the people are.

* * *

The hooded man runs in the dark woods, fully aware about the monsters lurking nearby, but also of the other one, much worse chasing him. The player coming to get him is one of the clearers, so he is insanely strong, with no chance for the running one to beat.

He heard the rumors: someone is hunting the members of his now extinct guild, but he decided to close his ears to it and just go in the open one more time. Now he has been discovered, just like the leader said the members would if they weren't careful.

A Throwing Pick appears from behind the man and hits right at his right knee, making him go to the floor, revealing a tattoo in his arm. It is the symbol of the red guild Laughing Coffin, who was destroyed earlier in the game.

"Don't even bother to move: the pick is covered in a poison made to paralyze the one affected."

His pursuer comes out of the shadow, wearing a long white cape who reaches the floor, with a hood covering his head. His face is covered by a black mask of a skull, with empty eyes on it, two black holes that draw the attention of the scared man at the floor.

The voice of the other man seems calm, like he is just discussing the weather with the fallen one. Tears start to drop from the red player's eyes and, if it was possible on the game, he would have dumped his pants already. The white man kneels down at his side, examining the prey.

"You know who I am?"

"I… I… I…"

"I am the one people call Archangel."

This confirms the worst fears of the man on the floor, making him scream in despair while trying to move, with no success. Archangel gets up and looks at him for a time, like he is deciding what to do with him.

"You have many sins on you. How many innocent lives have you taken? How many mothers will never hold their sons in her arms?"

"Please…"

"Did you have mercy on those you killed?"

Saying this, he puts his hand on the chest for a few seconds before moving it fast to the side of his body, making large white wings appear on his back. It is impossible to know for sure if they are solid, liquid, a gas or maybe something between those substances. Translucent, looking in constant flux like in a river, they would be a beautiful image if not for the tension of the moment.

"Oh God, no!"

"God has no word here."

A one handed sword, made of the same material of the wings, appear on Archangel's right hand. Its glow is not strong enough in the dark place, the blade straight as a square, the hand like the wings of a bird and the handle long enough to be hold with two hands. The winged man passes his left hand on it, like he is feeling how it is at the virtual touch.

"I beg you!"

Then, the sword passes right through the red player's back, right where his beating heart would be, making his HP bar drop almost by a quarter. Looking at how it disappears slowly, the man on the floor wonders how he could be so stupid to think he wouldn't suffer the same fate as his other comrades, who were slayed by this angel of death.

From far away, all that it is possible to be seen is the light of the wings and, when the angel gets up, the red player is nowhere to be seen. He makes the sword disappear together with his wings, now that his work here is done and there's no need for a sword.

Some players saw him hunting a red player once, but since the stories about his abilities were so ridiculous it just became some rumors. But every player who has killed knows well: if they have a "Prince of Darkness", then light can also choose a champion.

Moving away from the place, he notices how the snow is falling around him, so he stands his hand forward to grab some snowflakes. Looking at how they melt in his hand, the angel sounds thoughtful for a moment before keeping his way: there is another red player hidden around, and he will meet the justice of the Archangel!

* * *

It's almost nine o'clock in the morning when Robin finally arrives at the guild's building, tired from his business with Argo. After spending the whole night awake, all he wants is to place his head on a pillow and get a well-deserved night of…

"Oh, so there are you!"

Looking up the stairs with sleepy eyes, Robin sees Philia getting down on the stairs while looking at him, sounding a little satisfied. She comes down to the tired Robin, who is confused on why she is so happy for seeing him when she normally wants to strangle him.

"I was heading to bed now…"

"No, you are coming with me to get something."

"Get what? And why me?"

Robin really sounds confused at it.

"I need to give someone a present and I need you to come with me and help in choosing it, because I never did it before."

"And why the fuck me?"

"Because the person is a man, like you!"

Philia starts to get angry herself.

"Oh, come on! Why don't you pick anyone who hasn't spent the night awake, Cheesecake?"

Cheesecake is the nickname Robin gave her to annoy her even more, but with time she kind of got used to it.

"Just shut up and come with me!"

Moaning really loud and thinking about the fluffy bed he won't share some happy moments with, he starts to move as if he is dying. He really hopes this doesn't take too long, or he might just sleep on the floor.

* * *

"Good morning everyone."

I say, before covering my mouth to yawn out loud.

"Good morning, Kirito-kun!"

Silica is putting the table for just a few people, since almost everyone already left to go and celebrate the date with close friends and etc. Inside there's just me, Leafa, Silica, Liz, Klein and his guild and Egil. I wonder where Philia and Robin are.

"I heard Robin's voice earlier, but I don't see him here."

"He left right after arriving, apparently with Philia."

I am surprised by that.

"And what could those two be doing together? They hate each other!"

"I don't know about that, Kirito."

Liz smiles mischievously.

"Maybe they are having a secret romance and just do it to hide them from the world!"

"I seriously doubt that."

I say, looking at her.

Then we can all hear the door opening and I see Philia entering a little animated, with Robin… I have no idea why, but he sounds like a zombie, barely taking his feet from the floor while walking and having an empty look on his face.

"Hello everyone!"

Philia sounds way too excited, not her usual self.

"Robin-kun, are you okay?"

Robin says something inaudible and starts to move to the stairs, almost falling at every two meters. Philia sits at a vacant chair, making everyone look at her, probably wondering why she is so happy.

"Oh, did any of you guys heard? About that rumor?"

Klein asks, as if he remembers something.

"Which one? There are a thousand out there."

Liz say, raising both shoulders.

"About the Archangel!"

He sounds really animated by it.

"I have heard something about it, but not with many details."

Silica says, looking interested.

"Well, then here it comes: according to what I heard, Archangelis a player who died at the hands of red players, right? And then, he was so upset about dying that way that he somehow cheated the system's death and came back. But now he is able to manipulate the data to create weapons, so he hunts down any red player, crushing them under his feet!"

Something like that is really childish to take seriously, even when you think about the meaning of it. Sure, it would be nice to have a guardian like that, but this isn't a fairy tale, but the real world (you get me). But I notice how Philia's mood suddenly changes while hearing this rumor, calling my attention.

"Come on Klein, do you really believe something like that can be true?"

Egil mocks the other guy.

"Of course not! I just heard it and thought it was interesting, for a rumor, that's all!"

Even so, Philia sounds a little too worried about the rumor.

* * *

"A ball?"

I ask Robin, who arrives with paperwork, few since it's still that time between Christmas and New Year's Eve.

"Oh yeah, there are some invitations here. It will be held by the Divine Dragon Alliance to celebrate the New Year. Apparently, the guild leaders were all invited, together with extra ones for their lieutenants."

"Hum… should I attend to it? Sounds like a bother…"

"Well, you are the leader of Dark Phoenix, aren't you? It would be good if you show yourself to the world once in a while."

Maybe it would be good to show myself at the place, even if just for a few hours. As the appointed "hero" of the game, I must show the world I am someone they can rely on.

"Well, then you will need a pair."

Robin says this like it is normal.

"A pair?"

"For the dance, of course."

"Dance?"

Ever since I was a kid, I hated dancing, always preferring to stay at the corner playing a game or something like that. If in the ball it is necessary to do such a thing… and there's the pair thing as well, to add things up.

"How am I supposed to find a pair?"

"It's not like no girl would say yes to you."

I know that, if I invite them, Silica and Liz will accept to come with me. Heck, I can even count on Leafa for it, in case I really need it, but I have the feeling that won't be so good. What should I do?

Right at that moment, someone knocks the door and, after granting permission to enter, I see Philia entering the place, her arms behind her back and her face a little red.

"Listen… can I talk with you?"

"Well…"

I look at Robin, who grabs his things and leave quickly, blinking at Philia for some reason.

"Good luck, Cheesecake."

She breathes deeply before stepping forward and stopping right in front of my desk, looking like she is gathering the courage to say something. I say nothing and just wait for her to do what she wants to say.

"Listen… when you got me this, I had nothing for you, so… here."

She hands over a small box covered in a blue present paper with a green lace around it. Surprised, I pick it up and open it, finding a necklace inside, with two small swords shaped together, forming an "X". It had a silver chain to put around the neck as well.

"Did you… like it?"

She sounds unsure of what my answer may be.

I say nothing, instead just equipping the gift right away and giving her a smile. She seemed to understand what I meant by it, so she smiles happily as well.

"By the way, Philia…"

"Yes?"

"Well… there will be a ball on New Year's Eve and… a pair is necessary for it…. And as a guild leader, I should go there…"

"Okay…?"

"Well, would you… go with me? As a friend, of course!"

"I… well, I… you see…"

She gets really red, just like a tomato recently picked and starts to play with her fingers, nervously. It takes her some time to answer.

"Okay… I will go… with you…"

* * *

"Did you really invite the first girl who appeared in front of you?"

Robin says this, defending himself from my blow from the middle right.

"What's so strange about it, after all?"

"Nothing… it just sounds stupid, that's all."

We are sparring after lunch, just like we always do and I must say I am getting better at fighting just with my own skills. Without the assistance of the System, I get slower and do less damage, but at least it gets more difficult to predict my movements.

"And who are _you_ going with, smartass?"

"Me? I didn't even know I was supposed to invite someone!"

"Well, now you do!"

I say that last line with a low blow from the left, but he avoids it all the same.

Stopping to drink some water, I look at the cloudy sky and feel the cold air of December pass through my body. If this was the real world, I would be covered in sweat, but that's not the case here.

"I don't know who I should invite… maybe your sister will be fine."

"My… what?"

That surprises me more than anything.

"Leafa-chan. Isn't she your sister?"

"How did you…?"

"I heard you two talking… without intention of doing it, of course."

"Is that so… then it's okay."

I say, taking a sip from my water.

"In truth… she is my cousin, not my sister."

"Oh."

"Yeah… and after finding out of this, I distanced myself from her. Now I want to fix that mistake before it gets too late."

Those are the sincere feelings that I have been keeping on the inside of my heart for so long, ever since SAO started. Telling Robin this makes me… feel at ease with myself, since I can trust him completely.

"Thanks for… trusting me with it."

"You welcome."

After a silence of a few minutes, Robin breaks the silence.

"Hey, tell me something…"

"Hum?"

"What if… a person you trust hides something from you, something really important that no one should know, what would you do?"

The strange question picks me by surprise, but I think on it for a while before giving him an answer.

"Well… if it is so important for no one to know, then I guess I would be fine with it. Why?"

"Nothing… just nothing…"

* * *

Silica shouldn't have been out so late, she knows that. She was gathering some mushrooms to use in the cooking in the 45th floor, but she was so busy with it that she forgot to check the time. Now it is pretty late at night and she is still far away from home, on the 75th floor.

Trying to move fast, the only relief she has is that she is now stronger than any monster in the area, so she should be okay. Besides, she can always count on the Teleport Crystal in case things get too bad.

That's when she hears something moving among the trees, making her stop moving. Looking at what it was, she freezes in fear to see a person there, wearing a black robe and hiding its face. Trying to move away, someone grabs her from behind, stopping her from even getting her dagger.

"What's a cutie like you doing in a place like this?"

"Let me go!"

The two men laugh as she fights to release herself from their grasp, attempting to save herself from their grasp. But their Strength status must be too higher than her, because she can't get away. Screaming in the dark forest is useless, since no one will hear her in that place, so far away from any village.

"Now dear girl, why so afraid? All we want is to have some fun with you, nothing else!"

He tries to reach her, but then something passes really fast by his arm, cutting it out right in the middle of the wait and the elbow. Stepping back, he looks at the cut member while the object responsible for it, a sword made of light, disappears.

Then everyone sees the one responsible for it: tall, wearing a white cape with hood and a dark mask with hollow eyes, he moves calmly. The two red players know who he is, because of the rumors going around about him: the Archangel! Releasing Silica, they both start to run away, knowing what the infamous man does with players who have killed before.

For a second, the Archangel disappears and suddenly there's a sword passing the chest of one of the criminals, before he disappears in light. It's not the shattering of polygons who always show the death of a players, but more like the one you see during a teleport. The other one, who has lost his arm, falls to the ground, mumbling that he was sorry and other things.

Silica watches in horror, paralyzed by fear, as the man with the wings of an angel grabs the one in the floor by the neck and raises him, only to make him disappear the same way as the other. Silica has no idea if they had died or not, but all she can think about is what is going to happen to her.

The wings at his back disappear and he stares at the girl with his hollow eyes, making her feel a fear she never felt before. The monsters in this game are product of data, so they can't have emotions or feelings, but players are different, if the being in front of him is human. After some tense seconds, he starts to move away, leaving only the terrified girl to wonder what exactly just happened.

* * *

"And he just left you there?"

"That's right!"

Everyone at the guild is listening to Silica's story about her meeting with the famous Archangel, who apparently isn't a legend after all. After what happened, she used a Teleport Crystal to go directly to the 75th floor and to the guild, because she was scared. Now she is telling everyone what happened, while some shown impressed faces.

The only interesting part on the whole story, even considering everything, is how the criminals disappeared: could be that they are still alive? If so, where are they, exactly? And who is the Archangel, in reality? And, of course, there is the strange wings at his back, together with the ability to make swords appear.

I look at Robin, who arrived together with Silica and is listening with attention to her story, just like me. He looks worried, as if he is thinking in something about it, so I decide to talk with him for a while.

"What's it?"

"Listen… do you know something of this Archangel?"

My question makes him look at me with confusion.

"Why would I?"

"You sound really thoughtful when looking at Silica telling her story."

"Well… all I heard about this character are the rumors, nothing else. But apparently, they aren't rumors."

"Yeah… and what do you think of those wings he has? What could they be?"

"I never heard of something like that before in my life, so… could they be an Unique Skill?"

"Like my Dual Blades? Maybe you are right…"

I think, looking at the floor while thinking on the matter.

"Kirito… do you think he is wrong? By hunting down red players?"

"I don't know… but I guess that depends on what he does with them: if he just kills them, then he is wrong; but if he somehow just traps them somewhere, then it can't be so bad, right? After all, the Army arrests criminals as well, right?"

"Yeah…"

Another player with an Unique Skill might have shown himself, but what exactly is his skill, only he knows. And there are also the reasons of why he hunts red players: what could make anyone do something like that on free will?

"The ball is tomorrow, right? Have you got the tuxedo to go on it?"

Robin suddenly changes the subject.

"Yeah, I have… and I hope Philia has found a dress as well… what about you? Who are you going with?"

"I don't think I will go… because I really didn't find a pair."

"That's odd… didn't you say you were going with Leafa?"

"Yeah… that was a joke, you know?"

He sighs while looking at the ceiling of my room.

"Besides… there's no way I would start a relationship with another woman…"

"And why is that?"

That statement makes me curious.

"Maybe one day I will tell you… the whole story…"

He sounds serious as he says this, like something really bad happened related to whatever he has to say. I trust Robin, so I will leave him to choose whenever he wants to share anything with me. Sometimes I sense something inside of him that reminds me: a huge darkness that he hides from everyone else in the world.

"Well, I will leave you now, if there's no problem on it."

Robin says, moving to the door, but he stops at it.

"Hey, Kirito… be careful while going in the field, alright?"

"Why is that?"

"It's just… I don't want you to get hurt, that's all."

He leaves the room, making me wonder what exactly he meant with all that.

* * *

"You are… pretty good tonight…"

I say to Philia, who is as red as me.

"Thanks…"

She combed her hair in a ponytail at the back of her head, different from when it Is released. She is wearing a blue sleeveless dress with white details and light blue ruffles around her knees. Her neckline is a little to open, making me even more red, but it all has a pretty good effect in the end. She is also carrying a light blue and long scarf around her arms. As for me, I am just wearing a black tuxedo with a white shirt.

We are already at the building where the ball will be held, the headquarters of the Divine Dragon Alliance, and I see that every guild of the frontlines has its leader present. We walk inside to the luxurious hall filled with desks with food and a big dance space on the middle of it. Looking around, I notice how few of the woman in this place are really good-looking, with Philia catching the eye of every male player around.

"You know… I am starting to regret doing this…"

"Why is that? We haven't even danced yet!"

I sigh as we move around, shaking the hands of some important people and walking around everyone gathered at the place. I never liked doing this kind of thing, but even the rest of the Illuminati thought it would be good for me to be here, so here am I. Philia seems more happy than I have seen her ever since we have met, so at least a win is achieved.

After a while, I get the feeling I am being watched by someone, so I use my Detection skill to look around the place, finding nothing strange. This doesn't put me at ease, somehow.

"So, when are we going to dance?"

Philia suddenly asks me.

"What? I-I… I don't know how to dance…"

"It's okay, I can teach you while we do it."

"Is that so…"

We then went to the dancing space and I put my hand on her hip while holding her right hand with my left one. She looks in my eyes and I start to feel my body all hot, because suddenly I remember myself of Asuna and how I must be betraying her trust. I know Asuna is gone, but even so…

She guides me in the whole thing, so I don't think I am doing a bad job at pretending I know how to dance. After a while, I can say that I am even enjoying myself with this entire dancing thing. But that was before _he _appeared.

After a while, a female scream can be heard and everyone turns to the place where a player with a green cursor over its head can be seen. His clothes remind me of Silica's description: long white hooded white cape and a dark skull mask with hollow eyes on it. I notice who the person in question is: the Archangel!

"Did you thought you could escape the divine punishment, Toburo?"

Toburo is one of the main captains of the Divine Dragon Alliance and a green player, so I have no idea why the Archangel must be after him. The man himself steps back, looking terrified at the being in front of him, who moves his arm and makes the famous wings appear at his back.

He moves faster than any normal player can see, except maybe by me and a few others in the room, and he grabs Toburo's arm, taking the sleeve a little to show something who was been into hiding: a Laughing Coffin tattoo.

"This is your punishment."

The voice is calm while Toburo screams as he disappears in light, leaving no trace of him behind. Everyone in the room either enter in a panic state or move at the Archangel to subdue him, including myself.

"Get out of this place, now!"

I tell Philia, as I see the reaper making a sword appear, made of the same material of his wings. He spins it around, sending everyone to the floor and starts running in the middle of the crowd, in an attempt to escape. Did he really think he could go away like that?

I see that he is himself grabbing a crystal from somewhere inside his cape, so I try to stop him before he can go away. But right before I can grab him, he swings his sword and hits me, sending me away. Without any sword, I can really defend myself, but we are in a safe area, so I don't lose any HP.

"I am sorry for this."

I watch as the Archangel disappears, leaving just these final words with his calm voice. I stare at the place where he was just a second ago, wondering where Toburo went to, exactly.

* * *

"W-Where am I?"

Toburo arrives in a place where a camp has been set, with almost thirty people there, all sharing different campsites. One of the men sitting at one moves to welcome the newcomer.

"So, that monster got you as well?"

"Where are we?"

"Somewhere that I never seen before, but it doesn't matter right now. This is a prison, just more hellish."

"What do you mean?"

"This area here is like a safe zone of a dungeon, so no monster will harm us around here. But we can't send messages or be seen in the map, so I guess it must be a high-leveled dungeon in the upper floors."

"But… what happens now?"

"Now? We do our best to hunt and survive, because if your try to get away too much of this safe zone, monsters will probably kill you. The ones closer to the safe zone are okay, but as you get away from it, they get stronger to the point where it is impossible to get out. Some have tried and… well, they haven't returned."

* * *

"So, what's going to be done regardless the Archangel?"

This is the topic of the Illuminati's discussion today, as the attack spread like fire in gasoline, everyone now knows the Archangel isn't a rumor, but a real thing. What will come out of this discussion may change his fate a great deal, since the Divine Dragon Alliance declared his hunt, since he attacked a high member of the guild, even if he was a red player.

* * *

"That was pretty stupid, you know?"

The information dealer says as Archangel changes his clothes to the normal ones.

"It was worth the risk. Besides, now every red player knows what is coming at them. Not think or fear, but know!"

"And you will be hunted down because of the attack, since people now fear your Unique Skill."

"Someday, Angel's Bless will have no such utility, but that will only happen when I get PoD."

"Your vendetta may end in a tragic way, you know that, right?"

"Perhaps."

Robin looks at the information dealer in the eyes.

"But no one will suffer what Eirika suffered, not while I live!"


	5. Chapter 5

"Shit!"

This must be the hundredth time Robin curses the current situation as he stares at the place where Kirito was two days before. No one has been able to find him even after all this time, and with so many people looking for him.

Kirito went into a night's walk two days ago and he never came back, with Leafa being the last person who saw him before. She got worried that he didn't show up at breakfast and talked with Robin, who went out to search for him.

Right now everyone in the guild is looking for that guy, but so far nothing even appeared, not a single clue. Robins knows he is alive because his name didn't appear among those who have died, back in the 1st floor. But the question here is: where he could be?

Leafa, Silica, Lisbeth and everyone else are worried about him, but so far not a single clue has showed itself. Going back to the guild's headquarters, Robin wonders what could have happened to him as he opens the doors, finding everyone at the main hall, waiting for news.

"Did you find anything?"

The despair shown in Leafa's green eyes is heartbreaking, that's for sure.

"No… I found nothing at all…"

Robin says, staring at the wood floor with a mix of anger and sadness.

"Do you all think… that he was somehow kidnapped?"

Silica says what everyone has been fearing since they notice that the other boy was missing.

"No! That's impossible! Even if he was alone, Kirito still is the strongest among us all!"

Philia says the last sentence, somehow making Robin aware of something: how can she be so sure that this wasn't the case?

"No matter what, I am sure no one would be able to face him, even when he is alone!"

"No… there is someone…"

Lisbeth's scary tone makes everyone shivers.

"Who are you thinking about?"

Klein asks her, fearing what the answer may be.

"I am talking about him, the Archangel!"

Robin knows that isn't the case here, since he knows that Archangel was in his room, reading some new Intel his informants brought to him earlier. How can he know such a thing? Simple: he is the infamous Archangel, the hunter of red players. But no one else knows of this yet, so he can't take these suspicious away.

"But he just picks up players who have killed people, so Kirito would be…"

Robin starts to say, but Klein interrupts him.

"But… Kirito has killed before…"

"WHAT!?"

Everyone looks at him with extreme surprise, thinking how ridiculous it is what Klein just said. But deep down, Robin knows he is speaking the truth, because like Kirito and Robin, Klein was present on that day.

"When the hideout of Laughing Coffin was found… a raid of fifty people was created in order to arrest them, but they knew we were coming for them…"

Klein's voice is filled with pain as he stares at the floor, Robin being the only one among them also present on that day.

"They attacked us by surprise and… we lost ten people of the raid to them, but in turn… 21 members of LC were killed and… Kirito finished off two of these…"

"That's…"

Leafa can't say anything else, but all the other girls stay silent, shocked to never had heard about this information. Kirito carried such a burden in his heart, but he never even said a thing until now…

"But if they were red players, the Archangel wouldn't care about them and…"

"Remember Robin: apparently, that guy doesn't kill his victims, so he may put himself in a higher standard than anyone who has killed before."

Robin isn't like that at all, because he understands that certain circumstances can't be avoided and you need to kill. And Klein is wrong about one thing: Archangel do kill people, just that not nowadays.

"But if Archangel truly has him, then we don't have any idea of where he must be…"

This conversation is going to the wrong turn, because Robin has nothing to do with any of this. But a week after the incident in the New Year, people are still talking a lot about him, so he can understand why they would think he is to blame for what happened. Even so, if they all focus on the right direction, what could happen?

Robin then looks at Philia by instinct, finding out something curious about her: she has a face like she wants to say something, but is not willing to do it. No matter how long he stares at her, it doesn't change a bit at all, making Robin wonder if she knows something else.

* * *

In Kirito's absence, Robin has taken his duties as Guildmaster, but without his clearance, he can't really do much regarding it. Despite worried and wondering where Kirito may be, the guild must be administrated, even if all he wants to do is run outside and look for his friend.

"Excuse me, Robin-kun…"

Silica opens the door to my room, which I turned into an office.

"What's wrong, Silica-chan?"

"There is a group of people who want to join the guild, but…"

The way she speaks makes Robin wary.

"What's wrong with that? Just tell them that we can't accept anyone for the time being."

"It's just… that I am scared of them!"

The way she speaks makes Robin even more worried.

"What do you mean by… scared?"

He says, getting up and equipping his weapons, just to be sure.

"The way they were looking at me… like they want to do nasty things to me and…"

"Say no more."

For Silica, who has a lot of admirers and is even used to them praising her and looking at her, to say something like being scared by the way someone is looking at her, then something really wrong must be going on. Robin goes down the stairs and he finds a group of six people waiting in the hall, with the one appearing to be the leader in the front.

He has a slightly long blonde hair and red eyes, with a silver set of armor and purple and white clothes. He carries a red sword in his hip and has a golden ornament around his head. The others also are equipped with items that seem to be high-leveled, but Robin doesn't recognize any of them.

"Can I help you with something, gentlemen?"

"Oh, so you must be the legendary hero, Kirito-kun!"

The leader says, making an exaggerated gesture to salute me.

"My name is Alberich, and me and my friends here want to join your guild to help in the clearing efforts."

"Sorry, but at the moment we can't accept anyone."

Robin says, feeling Silica pushing the sleeve of his coat while hiding behind him. Now he understands what she meant by "scared".

"And besides, I am not Kirito, but my name is Robin."

"Is… that so?"

The man sounds slightly troubled, but amused at the same time, making Robin suspicious.

"Yeah… can I ask you something?"

"Go on ahead."

This Alberich says with a tone of arrogance.

"I know a lot of the people with high levels, but I never saw either you or your friends behind you. You also don't appear to be fairies, so you must have entered this game before the arrival of the ALO players."

"We liked to keep a low profile, but now that we have passed the 87th floor, we must do our best to help in the end of this game, right?"

"Is that so? You wanted to keep it so low that you never even participated in Boss Raids?"

"We were in all of them, at least one of us."

"Then tell me: in the 37th floor, what was the Boss and which was his special attack?"

"It was a giant spider and it could spill acid at the players."

His answer seems confident, but I smile at him, able to make him fall for my trick.

"Wrong. Everyone thinks that, but the real Boss was the spawning nest that the spider protected, something that anyone who has really fought it should know."

"That's…"

The look of hate the guy sends Robin would make a lot of people feel insecure, but Robin has faced worst things than an arrogant person, so he doesn't even care. After some tense seconds, Alberich takes out his sword, pointing it at Robin.

"I demand a duel from you, for the embarrassment you just put me through!"

"I wasn't embarrassing you. I just pointed that you were lying about saying any of you took part in the Boss Raids."

Alberich sends Robin waves of pure hate as he stares at him, probably wanting to slice the young man down, but restraining himself. As for Robin, he can't stop the feeling that there is something deeply wrong with the man in front of him.

"You got some nerve acting all mighty when your guildmaster is missing and…

"Who said Kirito was missing?"

Alberich makes a angry face as he realizes his mistake, since no one ever said anything about Kirito's disappearance. It is being kept as a secret, so no one should have heard about it, so the only way for this person to know…

"I… heard it somewhere…"

"If you are thinking that, then why did you think I was him?"

Robin asks, making the five guys behind Alberich feel uneasy.

"Could it be that you know something about the matter, but is hiding it?"

"I… I have nothing to do with that guy at all!"

Alberich says, giving Robin his back.

"If this stinky guild doesn't want us, then I will find one that will value my high skills!"

He says, right before leaving in a hurry, making Robin's suspicious grown larger.

"He was scary…"

Hearing Silica's voice puts Robin more at ease, so he pats her head for a time.

"Silica-chan, could you do me a favor? Tell the girls of the guild to never walk alone… actually, tell this to everyone."

"Where are you going?"

Silica asks, noticing how Robin is leaving the building.

"It's time to go hunting."

Unknown to them, Philia was watching from the upper floor the whole development of the situation.

* * *

"Where… am I?"

I try to open my eyes, but for some reason all I see is darkness, no matter where I try to look, because I can't move my neck as well. Nothing in my body is answering, no matter what I try to move, I can't do it.

There's also no sound around me, like someone covered my ears with something, blocking everything, just like the rest of my senses. I feel nothing from my skin, my nose or my ears, just like my senses are gone.

Trying to recall how I ended up here is useless, as the last thing I remember is when I told Leafa I would take a walk around to clear my head. After this, I have no idea what else may have happened, but I think I heard something right before my memory ends.

Could it be that someone managed to pick me and take me somewhere? Even so, it would be necessary someone really powerful for such a thing to happen… My first thought is about Archangel, but he never used this method, preferring to directly deal with his opponents.

Then, where am I now? As this question appears in my mind, something changes suddenly: a pain greater than any I have ever experienced before crosses my mind, like needles are being put in my brain. When it ends, I can't even breath heavily, because I apparently don't have lungs or even a mouth.

Then the pain comes again, over and over, so many times that I can't even count. How can I still be awake when such a thing happens to me? That's when I notice something off: I have no body and I am in a strange place, so that means I am in a virtual reality different from SAO? But how did I end up here?

* * *

"So, did you find anything about what I asked?"

Robin asks the information broker in front of him, both of them covering their heads with hoods as people pass by them on the street.

"It was a bit odd this time, but easier than my normal requests, Angel-san."

The guy says, looking at the ceiling of the floor.

"Anyway, here is a list of every person who has disappeared since the start of the game."

"Thank you."

"And for the other matter: no matter where I looked, I couldn't find any information regarding this Alberich or any of his goons. I went through several other information brokers to find something, but no one has even heard about this guy."

"Is that so?"

"I can try to find out more if you give me some more time on it, if you want."

Never before he has failed to provide information to his best client, so that pisses him a lot.

"That's okay, I trust your skills to provide data. If you or Argo can't find anything, then the person is a ghost."

"You also went to Argo? I thought you avoid her so she doesn't get suspicious about your… secondary activities."

"This time it has nothing to do with my hobby."

Robin says, looking at the hooded figure.

"A friend is missing and I want to find him. I believe… no, I am certain that this Alberich has something to do with it, but I need to find out how."

"If you need anything else, I am at your disposal.

A dear friend to him was killed by a red player, sometime before the disbanding of LC, so he helps Robin in his secondary activities for free, always doing his best to punish red players. But this time Robin insisted to pay him, because it had nothing to do with Archangel, making him worried. After so long working together, it can be said that they are friends already, so it is normal for him to get worried.

Robin is now looking at the list of missing people, with the date they disappeared at the side of the name, being organized by the order they went away without traces. So far, a shocking number of 107 people have disappeared, none of them from the clearing group at the time.

"How… how did so many just vanish like that?"

Together with the names and dates, some information about them was also included, like probable levels, fighting style and even preferences. After looking at it for a while, Robin finds out something that may give him a clue: they were all solo players.

That must be the reason why so few people noticed: usually this kind of person is not very social, preferring to do things alone than with other people. Kirito was one for a long time, but nowadays he even leads a guild, so there is a break of consistence at this point. The other thing is that everyone was from the middle floors, far away from the clearing lines, making them unknown to the rest of the players.

"Robin-san… can I come in?"

"Of course, Leafa-chan!"

Robin says, quickly hiding the list of people, since he doesn't want anyone to find out about it, at least until he finds out more.

"Thank you…"

Leafa seems really down when she gets inside.

"No luck, I assume."

"Even with everyone on the guild helping… I can't stop the feeling that he may… he may…"

"He is not dead, at least not for now."

Robin wants to punch himself for tis weak imitation of cheering up.

"Listen, we are going to find him, no matter what happens, alright?"

"But… I am so scared…"

Leafa puts both her hands in her chest, filling a pain so huge that she thinks her heart will explode.

"I lost him once and I got so desperate, but now is different because… because…"

"You love him, more than just a brother."

Robin says, making the crying girl stop from shock.

"Leafa, the way you look at him, the way you act towards him… I can see your feelings pretty well."

"Is it that obvious?"

She says, feeling her heart breaking.

"One could easily mistake it with sibling's love, as I know Kirito mistakes. However, nowadays I know the difference clearly… since that day…"

A flash of blonde hair crosses his mind.

"But I can see it… you love him, but you also know that someone else is in his mind all the time…"

"I… know he still loves Asuna-san, but I…"

Leafa then closes her eyes and just let her tears flow.

"You don't want to be selfish and force your feelings on him when he is down."

Robin says, making Leafa a bit scared that he can read her so easily.

"Leafa, I believe you are a good person, but that you also should look better at your own feelings. Even if loving your brother is a bit awkward to others, if that's what you want, then do it."

"He… isn't my brother… but my cousin…"

Then Leafa ends up explaining to Robin everything related to their situation, to how Kirito started to treat her coldly to after he was stuck in SAO. An hour passed when she finally calmed down, extremely red from saying all those things she was keeping inside her heart.

"I am sorry for saying all of this, Robin-san, so…"

"Robert…"

"What?"

Leafa gets confused.

"My mother wanted Roberto to be my name, but my father ended up convincing her to go with the English version."

"Is… that so?"

"Robert Cross de Souza… that's my real name, the name given to me by my parents when I was born."

Robin, or Robert, smiles as he looks at Leafa.

"You see, I am a little envious of Kirito, for having such an amazing sister, or cousin, at his side. I could have one, if fate wasn't such a evil thing."

"What… do you mean?"

"I don't remember my mother so well, but I know she was pregnant with a little girl, back when I was just eight."

Robin sits down on the bed, at Leafa's side.

"I wanted so much to see that little girl growing inside my mother, my tiny little sister. Father told me to protect her as an older brother, so I swore to him I would. But I never put my eyes on her, in the end."

"Why?"

Leafa gets a bad feeling about it.

"Someone got inside our house during the night and mother was in the kitchen, drinking water when the guy saw her. He took her hostage and menaced to kill her, or at least that's what I was told."

Robin never sounded so filled with sadness than in this moment.

"Then I… heard the commotion and woke my father, who picked up a gun and went to face the invader. However, there were two of them and… father lost his handgun and the second guy put him at his mercy. That's when I got there and found the gun at my feet."

"You…"

"I picked it up and I pointed at the chest of the man standing with his back at me, who had my father at his feet. Without knowing what to do, I fired, hitting the exact point where the aorta would be, making him go to the floor immediately. He was dead in a few minutes from blood loss."

"What happened…?"

My father managed to get up and take the gun from the second man already, but before dying, the second one fired, hitting my mother right in her belly… and you can imagine what happened…"

"Did she…?"

"She is alive… my mother, I mean. But the girl inside her… wasn't so lucky."

Robin's eyes are filled with tears while Leafa covers her mouth with her hands, in shock.

"Hew womb was also destroyed, so she can never have any other children… and she left me and father right after that. Father thinks I am not aware, but I know that she wanted to get rid of me, not allowing taking part on my custody…"

"Why? You are her only…"

"Because she blames me for what happened."

Robin then looks in pain as he hugs his own legs.

"You see… maybe if I didn't kill that man, she wouldn't have been shot and… I would have a sister now. But maybe I would be an orphan, so…"

He cleans his tears and looks at Leafa.

"Sorry, I got carried away and… you had to listen to something ugly…"

He is silenced when Leafa hugs him, making the boy speechless.

"Even though you have suffered so much, you still worry about others… you truly is a good person…"

"Leafa-chan…"

"Robert… I am glad that you listened to my story with Oni-chan… and that you trusted me enough to tell me your story…"

She says, hugging him strongly.

"Your mother… is wrong about you. You wanted to save her, right? Her and your little sister, so you shouldn't worry."

"I…"

"I saw how you always do your best to help everyone, despite how troubled you get. Even Philia-san, the person you don't get along, is someone you can't stop from helping."

"Yes, I…"

"So… know this: I know that, wherever your sister is, she is hoping for you to be happy and cheering for you every day."

"Maybe…"

"You know… I am glad I ended up here in SAO, despite everything."

Leafa says, smiling at Robin.

"Because I saw Oni-chan again… and I got to meet you too, Robert-san."

"Is that so?"

"I think… everything seems different from before arriving here!"

"Everything… is different…"

Robin says, suddenly realizing something.

"Thank you… Leafa-chan."

"Suguha."

"What?"

"You can call me Suguha… when we are alone like this."

She gets really red.

"And I will call you… Robert, okay?"

"Yeah… I guess so…"

Robin also gets really red.

"So… could you not…"

"Tell anyone about your family? Sure."

Leafa… no, Suguha says, smiling at him.

"Thanks for helping me!"

"All I did was cry and show you my ugly side…"

"No, you did more than this."

She says, opening the door and closing it behind her.

"You just took over my heart…"

Alone again, Robin decides to check the list again to confirm his suspicious, but the smiling image of the fairy girl keeps in the mind of the young man. Sighing, he gets up and lies down a little to cool his head.

He never told that to anyone, but doing with Kirito's sister felt right, like he was supposed to. He never really looked at her, but she is kind of cute and…

"Stop!"

He says, closing his eyes and getting up.

"Maybe she is despicably ugly in the real world!"

She says, sitting down in the chair again.

"Besides, she is Kirito's sister! He will kill me when… or will he?"

He thinks for a second before taking the thought out of his head.

"No. Way. In. Hell!"

He stares at the list, finding out exactly what he thought about: almost all of the disappearances happened after the coming of the people from ALO. What could that mean? How someone makes a person just disappear without leaving traces?

That's when he hears the sound warning him he got a message, so he opens his window, only to not recognize the name of the sender. Opening the message, he sees something strange: a map showing a location at this floor and a few words: "If you want to save your friend, then come here as Archangel".

* * *

"I have a really bad feeling about this…"

Robin says, arriving at the marked place only to find a hooded person waiting below the marked tree.

"Are you the one who called me here?"

"Indeed."

This voice… doesn't sound like the one from a human being.

"I know about your quest to find your friend and all the missing people, so I am here to help."

"And what kind of help you can provide?"

"The place where they are being kept is located on the 98th Floor, a place impossible for normal people to access. However, I can create a portal to that place for you and also provide a way for you to stop Alberich's plans."

"But how is he there? Who is he? And who are you?"

"Very well… I will tell you everything…"

The person says, taking off his hood and making Robin step back.

"How…? You should be dead!"

"Forgetting about this for now, let me ask: have you heard about the Illuminati?"

* * *

The pain has stopped for what seems to be some time now, but I still know that, whatever was causing it must be taking just a break. I don't know for how long I have been here, but that seems to be centuries. Sometimes the only thinking stopping me from giving up is the promise to Asuna, but I get weaker by every day that passes.

But something suddenly changes: a light appears where there was nothing. With time, the blue light replaces the everlasting darkness that was covering me and I feel air in my lungs for the first time in a while, almost dropping to the floor when I sense my legs and arms back.

"What the…?"

I say, noticing that someone picks me up before I completely falls to the ground.

"One less problem for me, apparently."

I look at who speaks and I find myself staring at the Archangel.

"What…are you doing?"

"Saving you and more than a hundred people."

He simply says, lifting me up and I notice that we are in a large room filled with capsules, with… people inside them?

"Don't worry, I am going to save them as well."

He says, showing me a silver card.

"But I will need your help, because I can't break in the central station on my own. I will need your help, Kirito."

"What's going on?"

I ask, trying to make sense of the situation.

"These people in the capsules are being used in mind experiments, mind control to be more precise."

Archangel says, making me feel sick.

"Pain tolerance, dream induction and many other things are being tested with the players of SAO, all conducted by a single man: Alberich, or Sugou Nobuyuki."

"Who?"

"Apparently, he was supposed to become the husband of Yuuki Asuna, the girl you have met here as just Asuna."

What the Archangel says makes my knees weak.

"And he hates you for… killing her and taking a good position as the CEO of a great company, which he would become with the marriage."

"But I didn't kill her!"

I say, getting angry.

"Well, he blames you anyway, so there's no helping it."

He says, getting me up.

"Listen, Kirito, we must stop him before he can keep doing what he is doing, or more people will suffer."

"And why should I help you?"

"Because… you have no other choice?"

In the end, I end up following him, despite my suspicious about why he is here. They just increase when he says we are somewhere in the 98th Floor, something that should be impossible to achieve. How did he manage to arrive here?

"Kirito, we… watch out!"

He says, making a light sword appears and defending us from an attack.

In front of us, I see six people being leaded by an arrogant blonde guy, who appears to be the leader. His handsome face is being distorted by rage as he looks down on the two of us.

"Look who got out of his cage: the "hero" Kirito-kun!"

His tone makes me uneasy, but the Archangel keeps his posture.

"So this is where you are, Alberich… no, Sugou!"

"Oh my… using real names here? You should know that it isn't very polite, don't you… Robin-kun?"

"Ro… bin…"

As I look in shock to the hooded man, he stares at the floor for a few seconds before taking off his mask and uncovering his head, making an already familiar hair appear in front of me. This person is, without a doubt, the same one I thought to be my friend, the player Robin.

"Kirito… I promise you I will tell everything related to me when we finish this guy. So, please lend me your strength."

I…"

He lied to me during all the time we were together. The Robin I knew and laughed with isn't the real one, but a fake to hide the actions of a much darker creature, going by the name of Archangel.

But then, haven't I been doing the same? I hid my involvement with the Illuminati from him as well, planning and manipulating events so we can clear the game faster. In a way, I am as despicable as him, from hiding such a dark thing from others.

"I understand…"

I say, picking up the sword from my back.

According to what Archangel, or Robin, said, they won't die if we end their HP, but they will rather stay in a coma, since the Amusphere, the replacement for theNerve Gear, can't kill the user. Knowing this allows me to unleash the anger from all that pain I felt in these guys, with Sugou being the last one, because he didn't join his subordinates.

"You… you can't kill me! I am stronger than any of you will ever be! I set up me Level at 200! There's no way…"

He shuts up when I finally cuts his right arm, making him fall to the floor.

"I will show you what real power… wait!"

His tone is extremely desperate.

"I can't… control the system anymore!"

"So, you managed to take control over this idiot?"

Robin asks a hooded figure who appeared behind us.

"Yes, I did. Now I can stop this stupidity at once!"

The hooded figure takes out the hood and I almost fall to the ground with surprise after seeing the face of the man in front of me. It is a very familiar face, but he has black hair and purple eyes this time, different from the last time we saw each other.

"Kayaba… Akihiko…"

"Not at all, Kirito-kun."

His smile, his way of speaking… it is the same as that man, but something does fells off about him.

"I am Cardinal, the system that rules over the VRMMORPG Sword Art Online."

This… can't be…

"After the Master was killed by you, I couldn't allow him to destroy this world before its conclusion, so I took over control over SAO. Sadly, I was still too confused at the time, which allowed a certain worm to take over me, reducing me to a mere shadow of who I really am."

Cardinal looks at Sugou, who is crying as he looks terrified at the presence.

"He started to do experiments on the people, something that I couldn't allow him to go unpunished. That's why I looked for someone who would be willing to help me, and I found Robin-kun here. Now the control over the system belongs to me again, so now all the people here can be freed from this man's hands."

"You can't do this! I won't…"

Sugou shuts his mouth after Robin cuts down the other arm, making him scream louder than before.

"Just for you to know: I have set your pain absorbers to zero, so all the pain you would feel in the real world is going to happen. And I will revive you one or two times to make sure you remember this day clearly, Sugou."

The way Cardinal speaks makes me terrified, but then I remember the pain Sugou put me through because of a childish notion of revenge. I won't describe what exactly we did to him, but let's just say he will never forget this day for the rest of his life.

"So, now all that's left is a choice."

Cardinal tells us, looking at us while smiling with that hateful face.

"What choice?"

"The police have been warned, with plenty of proof being sent about these men's actions. However, before I delete everything that can be used to continue this horrible research, I will give you the choice of erasing the memories of the ones being used as guinea pigs."

"And why would we do that?"

"Because that will create panic, something that goes against the Illuminati's wishes, am I right? Therefore, if none of them remembers what exactly happened…"

"I…"

"I will also destroy any evidence of you two's involvement on the matter, so you won't suffer any penalty in the real world, in case you go back one day. I will leave this decision to you, but you must do it right about now."

I close my eyes, the answer already given to me.

* * *

"So… we are back…"

"Yeah… it feels good to get the wind on my face after so long…"

I say, looking at the night sky, happy that I am alive. According to that A.I, all of the kidnapped players are now being transported to safe regions, without any memory of what happened. Sugou and his subordinates suffered a memory loss as well, but just regarding our interference.

"Using the machine was the best course of action… I think."

Robin says, still wearing the clothes of Archangel.

"I have gone too far to just put everything to lose now."

I say, turning my hands into fists.

"So, you knew about the Illuminati?"

"Only what that Cardinal told me, nothing else. But I get why they are needed."

"Listen… before we head back, I would like to hear it, from your mouth: why are you Archangel and what are we supposed to do for now on?"

"Then… let's find an Inn…"

Robin closes his eyes and then looks at me, his hearth filled with resolution.

"I will tell you everything… about my past and the birth of Archangel."

* * *

_**First, I am sorry for the long delay. Second, I hope you keep reading, because I will try to make things faster. Third, what do you think about Robin's past?**_


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